CVE-2025-54860
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2025-54860 is a denial-of-service vulnerability in Cognex In-Sight Explorer and In-Sight Camera Firmware where improper handling of telnet login failures allows attackers to render the telnet service unreachable. This affects industrial control systems using these Cognex vision products for factory automation and quality inspection. The vulnerability requires network access to port 23 but no authentication to trigger the DoS condition.
💻 Affected Systems
- Cognex In-Sight Explorer
- Cognex In-Sight Camera Firmware
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Critical manufacturing processes relying on Cognex vision systems become unavailable, halting production lines and causing significant operational disruption and financial loss.
Likely Case
Telnet service becomes unresponsive, preventing legitimate management operations like firmware updates and device reboots, requiring physical intervention to restore functionality.
If Mitigated
With proper network segmentation and access controls, the impact is limited to isolated network segments with minimal operational disruption.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires sending malformed authentication attempts to the telnet service, which is straightforward for attackers with network access.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Refer to Cognex security advisory for specific patched versions
Vendor Advisory: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-25-261-06
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Contact Cognex support for patched firmware versions. 2. Backup current configuration. 3. Apply firmware update following Cognex documentation. 4. Restart affected devices. 5. Verify service functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Telnet Service
allDisable the vulnerable telnet service if management via telnet is not required.
Configuration varies by device - consult Cognex documentation for disabling telnet service
Network Access Control
linuxRestrict access to port 23 using firewall rules to only trusted management stations.
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 23 -s [TRUSTED_IP] -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 23 -j DROP
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation to isolate Cognex devices from untrusted networks
- Deploy network monitoring and intrusion detection for port 23 traffic patterns
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Attempt to connect to port 23 on affected devices and observe if telnet service becomes unresponsive after multiple failed login attempts.Check Version:
Check device firmware version through In-Sight Explorer interface or device web interfaceVerify Fix Applied:
After patching, test that telnet service remains responsive after multiple failed authentication attempts and legitimate management functions work properly.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed telnet authentication attempts from single source
- Telnet service restart events
- Connection timeouts to port 23
Network Indicators:
- High volume of TCP SYN packets to port 23
- Multiple telnet connection attempts with invalid credentials
- Sudden cessation of legitimate telnet traffic
SIEM Query:
source_port:23 AND (event_type:"authentication_failed" OR event_type:"connection_timeout")