Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Eaton Intelligent Power Manager versions before 1.69 have a critical unauthenticated remote code execution flaw. An attacker who can reach the vulnerable service could potentially run code through a malformed request path involving SNMP handling. This is high urgency for environments using IPM to monitor power infrastructure.
Executive priority
Treat this as urgent if Eaton IPM is present. The vulnerability can allow unauthenticated remote code execution and affects software used around power management operations. Prioritize asset discovery, version verification, and network restriction while applying the vendor-supported update path.
Technical view
CVE-2021-23281 is a CWE-94 code injection issue in Eaton IPM before 1.69. The source states IPM fails to sanitize a date value supplied through the coverterCheckList action in meta_driver_srv.js, allowing a crafted packet to trigger connection to a rogue SNMP server and execute attacker-controlled code.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to organizations running Eaton Intelligent Power Manager before 1.69. Risk is highest where IPM is reachable from untrusted networks or broader internal segments. The provided sources do not list CPEs, ports, deployment patterns, or exposed-instance counts.
Exploitation context
The CVSS 3.1 score is 10.0 with network access, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction. The bundle does not identify CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence, so active exploitation should not be assumed from these sources alone.
Researcher notes
The record provides a clear vulnerable version boundary and root cause but limited operational detail. It does not provide CPEs, exploit-in-the-wild evidence, public exploit status, or detailed remediation instructions beyond the pre-1.69 affected range and Eaton advisory reference.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Eaton IPM deployments and record installed versions.
- Upgrade IPM versions prior to 1.69 following Eaton’s advisory.
- Restrict IPM access to trusted management networks only.
- Block unnecessary inbound access from user and internet-facing networks.
- Review Eaton guidance for any additional compensating controls.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Eaton IPM is installed in the environment.
- Verify installed IPM versions are 1.69 or later.
- Check whether IPM management interfaces are externally reachable.
- Review firewall rules around IPM and SNMP-related connectivity.
- Look for unexpected IPM connections to untrusted SNMP hosts.
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-94: Code execution behavior lookup
Code execution and unsafe deserialization weaknesses often justify reviewing execution behavior and process telemetry. 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 lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-23281 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
- Critical
- CVSS
- 10 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H3.96Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
10CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
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.
Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.