CVE-2023-46142 | PHOENIX CONTACT: Insufficient Read and Write Protection to Logic and Runtime Data in PLCnext Control

A incorrect permission assignment for critical resource vulnerability in PLCnext products allows an remote attacker with low privileges to gain full access on the affected devices.

Published: 2023-12-14 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-46142 is rated Moderate Risk (52.2/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.26%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-46142

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-11-21 0.37% 0.26% -0.12%
2 2025-11-18 0.26% 0.37% +0.12%
3 2025-05-04 — 0.26% —

Full EPSS history (10 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-46142

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-46142

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-46142

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
phoenixcontact axc_f_1152_firmware <= 2024.0 cpe:2.3:o:phoenixcontact:axc_f_1152_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
phoenixcontact axc_f_2152_firmware <= 2024.0 cpe:2.3:o:phoenixcontact:axc_f_2152_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
phoenixcontact axc_f_3152_firmware <= 2024.0 cpe:2.3:o:phoenixcontact:axc_f_3152_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
phoenixcontact bpc_9102s_firmware <= 2024.0 cpe:2.3:o:phoenixcontact:bpc_9102s_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
phoenixcontact epc_1502_firmware <= 2024.0 cpe:2.3:o:phoenixcontact:epc_1502_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
phoenixcontact epc_1522_firmware <= 2024.0 cpe:2.3:o:phoenixcontact:epc_1522_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
phoenixcontact plcnext_engineer <= 2024.0 cpe:2.3:a:phoenixcontact:plcnext_engineer:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
phoenixcontact rfc_4072r_firmware <= 2024.0 cpe:2.3:o:phoenixcontact:rfc_4072r_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
phoenixcontact rfc_4072s_firmware <= 2024.0 cpe:2.3:o:phoenixcontact:rfc_4072s_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-46142

cvelogic Threat Intelligence