Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Rockwell Automation ISaGRAF Runtime 4.x and 5.x may store passwords in plaintext beside the executable. Someone with local access could read those credentials and use them to expand access. This is most relevant to industrial control environments where the runtime is installed on operational or engineering systems.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority ICS credential exposure issue, especially where shared operational hosts or weak local access controls exist. Prioritize asset identification, vendor guidance review, and remediation planning before broader incident assumptions.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-256: unprotected plaintext credential storage. The source bundle says ISaGRAF Runtime reads a plaintext password file from the executable directory and stores it in a variable without modification. CVSS 3.1 is 7.8 high with local attack vector and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Organizations running Rockwell Automation ISaGRAF Runtime versions 4.x or 5.x are in scope. Exposure depends on whether local users or processes can access the runtime installation directory. Downstream vendor advisories should be checked where products embed or ship this runtime.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The described attack is local, not remote. Evidence is incomplete on exploit availability, patches, and exact downstream product exposure beyond the cited vendor advisories.
Researcher notes
One source description says local unauthenticated attacker, while the supplied CVSS vector includes PR:L. Preserve that distinction during validation. Do not assume remote exploitability or active exploitation without additional cited evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Identify all systems running ISaGRAF Runtime 4.x or 5.x.
- Review Rockwell Automation advisory 1131699 for supported remediation.
- Check Schneider Electric and Xylem advisories for downstream guidance.
- Limit local access to affected runtime hosts.
- Review file permissions around the runtime installation directory.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed ISaGRAF Runtime versions on ICS hosts.
- Verify whether plaintext credential storage exists on affected installations.
- Check whether vendor remediation has been applied.
- Review local user access to affected hosts.
- Confirm compensating controls are documented for unsupported systems.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-256: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-25184 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ics/advisories/icsa-20-280-01CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/app/answers/answer_view/a_id/1131699CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://download.schneider-electric.com/files?p_Doc_Ref=SEVD-2021-159-04CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://www.xylem.com/siteassets/about-xylem/cybersecurity/advisories/xylem-multismart-rockwell-isagraf.pdfCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Plaintext Storage of a Password
Plaintext Storage of a Password represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.