CVE-2024-25998
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2024-25998 allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands on OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) services due to improper input validation. This affects electric vehicle charging infrastructure using vulnerable OCPP implementations. Attackers can exploit this with limited privileges to gain initial access to charging systems.
💻 Affected Systems
- OCPP-compliant charging station management systems
- EV charging infrastructure software
📦 What is this software?
Charx Sec 3000 Firmware by Phoenixcontact
Charx Sec 3050 Firmware by Phoenixcontact
Charx Sec 3100 Firmware by Phoenixcontact
Charx Sec 3150 Firmware by Phoenixcontact
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of charging infrastructure, allowing attackers to disrupt charging operations, manipulate billing data, or pivot to internal networks.
Likely Case
Limited command execution allowing attackers to disrupt individual charging sessions, exfiltrate data, or establish persistence on charging equipment.
If Mitigated
Attack blocked at network perimeter with proper segmentation and input validation, limiting impact to isolated charging equipment.
🎯 Exploit Status
Command injection vulnerabilities typically have low exploitation complexity once the injection point is identified
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Vendor-specific; check VDE advisory for affected products
Vendor Advisory: https://cert.vde.com/en/advisories/VDE-2024-011
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Identify affected OCPP software version. 2. Apply vendor-provided security patches. 3. Restart OCPP services. 4. Verify patch application.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Segmentation
allIsolate OCPP services from untrusted networks using firewalls
Input Validation Rules
linuxImplement WAF rules to block command injection patterns in OCPP traffic
# Example ModSecurity rule: SecRule ARGS "[;|&`$()]" "id:1001,phase:2,deny,msg:'Command injection attempt'"
# Example naxsi rule: MainRule "str:|&;`$" "msg:command injection" "mz:ARGS|BODY|URL|$HEADERS_VAR:Cookie" "s:$XSS:8" id:1001;
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network access controls to limit OCPP service exposure to trusted IPs only
- Deploy application-level firewalls with command injection detection rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check OCPP service version against vendor advisories; test with controlled input validation testsCheck Version:
Vendor-specific; typically via management interface or system logsVerify Fix Applied:
Verify patch version is installed and test with safe command injection payloads to confirm blocking📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual command execution in OCPP service logs
- Malformed OCPP messages containing shell metacharacters
- Failed authentication attempts followed by command execution
Network Indicators:
- OCPP traffic containing shell metacharacters (;, |, &, `, $)
- Unexpected outbound connections from charging infrastructure
SIEM Query:
source="ocpp_logs" AND ("cmd.exe" OR "/bin/sh" OR "bash" OR "powershell" OR ";" OR "|" OR "&" OR "`" OR "$")