CVE-2023-38747
📋 TL;DR
A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in CX-Programmer software allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or disclose sensitive information by tricking users into opening malicious CXP files. This affects users of CX-Programmer included in CX-One CXONE-AL[][]D-V4 version 9.80 and earlier. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous as it requires minimal user interaction.
💻 Affected Systems
- CX-Programmer included in CX-One CXONE-AL[][]D-V4
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full system compromise with attacker gaining complete control over the affected system, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or lateral movement within the network.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation leading to unauthorized access to sensitive engineering data, program logic theft, or disruption of industrial control systems.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper application whitelisting and user training preventing malicious file execution.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires social engineering to get users to open malicious files. No public exploit code available at time of analysis.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Update to version newer than V9.80
Vendor Advisory: https://www.ia.omron.com/product/vulnerability/OMSR-2023-005_en.pdf
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download latest CX-Programmer version from Omron website. 2. Uninstall current version. 3. Install updated version. 4. Restart system.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict CXP file execution
windowsConfigure Windows to prevent execution of CXP files or restrict to trusted sources only.
Use Windows Group Policy to restrict file associations for .cxp files
User training and awareness
allTrain users to only open CXP files from trusted sources and verify file integrity.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement application whitelisting to only allow execution of known-good CX-Programmer instances
- Isolate affected systems in segmented network zones with strict outbound filtering
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check CX-Programmer version in Help > About menu. If version is 9.80 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
Check Help > About in CX-Programmer GUI (no CLI command available)Verify Fix Applied:
Verify version is newer than 9.80 in Help > About menu and test opening known-good CXP files.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected CX-Programmer crashes
- Suspicious process creation from CX-Programmer
- Unusual network connections from CX-Programmer process
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from CX-Programmer to unexpected destinations
- DNS queries for suspicious domains from affected systems
SIEM Query:
Process Creation where Image contains 'CX-Programmer' AND Parent Process contains 'explorer.exe'