Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- EPSS is 1.27% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2022
CVE-2020-14521High confidence
Mitsubishi Electric Factory Automation Engineering Products Unquoted Search Path or Element
Mitsubishi Electric · C Controller Interface Module Utility
8.3HighCVSS 3.1
Within 7 days
Fix not verifiedHigh technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityHigh→Operational priority:High, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
- Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs Mitsubishi Electric C Controller Interface Module Utility and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
Fix not verified01
What, why and how
Multiple Mitsubishi Electric Factory Automation engineering software products have a malicious code execution vulnerability. A malicious attacker could use this vulnerability to obtain information, modify information, and cause a denial-of-service condition.
What
Multiple Mitsubishi Electric Factory Automation engineering software products have a malicious code execution vulnerability. A malicious attacker could use this vulnerability to obtain information, modify information, and cause a denial-of-service condition.
Why
The product uses a search path that contains an unquoted element, in which the element contains whitespace or other separators. This can cause the product to access resources in a parent path.
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication after a user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
What
Multiple Mitsubishi Electric Factory Automation engineering software products have a malicious code execution vulnerability. A malicious attacker could use this vulnerability to obtain information, modify information, and cause a denial-of-service condition.
Why
The product uses a search path that contains an unquoted element, in which the element contains whitespace or other separators. This can cause the product to access resources in a parent path.
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication after a user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation No confirmed evidence
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
Public PoC / exploit material None recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.
- Likely attack path
- a network path → Unquoted Search Path or Element → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
- Attack surface
- Network
- Privileges required
- None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
- User interaction
- Required interaction required
- Attack complexity
- High: exploitation depends on specific conditions
- Security boundary
- Changed: exploitation can affect a different security authority
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-428 ↗
CWE-428: Unquoted Search Path or Element. The product uses a search path that contains an unquoted element, in which the element contains whitespace or other separators. This can cause the product to access resources in a parent path.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACHighAttack complexity: Successful exploitation depends on specific conditions outside the attacker's direct control.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UIRequiredUser interaction: Another user must perform an action for exploitation to succeed.SChangedScope: The attack can affect a component governed by a different security authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
03
Patch and workaround
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
- Status
?
Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change. - Fix not verified
- Affected
- C Controller Interface Module Utility: unspecified ≤ Version 2.00
- CC-Link IE Control Network Data Collector: Version 1.00A
- CC-Link IE Field Network Data Collector: Version 1.00A
- CC-Link IE TSN Data Collector: Version 1.00A
- CPU Module Logging Configuration Tool: unspecified ≤ Version 1.100E
- CW Configurator: unspecified ≤ Version 1.010L
- Data Transfer: unspecified ≤ Version 3.42U
- EZSocket: unspecified ≤ Version 5.1
- FR Configurator SW3: All Versions
- FR Configurator2: unspecified ≤ Version 1.26C
- GT Designer2 Classic: All Versions
- GT Designer3 Version1 (GOT1000): unspecified ≤ Version 1.241B
- GT Designer3 Version1 (GOT2000): unspecified ≤ Version 1.241B
- GT SoftGOT1000 Version3: unspecified ≤ Version 3.200J
- GT SoftGOT2000 Version1: unspecified ≤ Version 1.241B
- GX Developer: unspecified ≤ Version 8.504A
- GX LogViewer: unspecified ≤ Version 1.100E
- GX Works2: unspecified ≤ Version 1.601B
- GX Works3: unspecified ≤ Version 1.063R
- M CommDTM-IO-Link: unspecified ≤ Version 1.03D
- MELFA-Works: unspecified ≤ Version 4.4
- MELSEC WinCPU Setting Utility: All Versions
- MELSOFT Complete Clean Up Tool: unspecified ≤ Version 1.06G
- MELSOFT EM Software Development Kit: unspecified ≤ Version 1.015R
- MELSOFT iQ AppPortal: unspecified ≤ Version 1.17T
- MELSOFT Navigator: unspecified ≤ Version 2.74C
- MI Configurator: unspecified ≤ Version 1.004E
- Motion Control Setting: unspecified ≤ Version 1.005F
- Motorizer: unspecified ≤ Version 1.005F
- MR Configurator2: unspecified ≤ Version 1.125F
- MT Works2: unspecified ≤ Version 1.167Z
- MTConnect Data Collector: unspecified ≤ Version 1.1.4.0
- MX Component: unspecified ≤ Version 4.20W
- MX MESInterface: unspecified ≤ Version 1.21X
- MX MESInterface-R: unspecified ≤ Version 1.12N
- MX Sheet: unspecified ≤ Version 2.15R
- Network Interface Board CC IE Control Utility: unspecified ≤ Version 1.29F
- Network Interface Board CC IE Field Utility: unspecified ≤ Versions 1.16S
- Network Interface Board CC-Link Ver.2 Utility: unspecified ≤ Version 1.23Z
- Network Interface Board MNETH Utility: unspecified ≤ Version 34L
- Position Board utility 2: unspecified ≤ Version 3.20
- PX Developer: unspecified ≤ Version 1.53F
- RT ToolBox2: unspecified ≤ Version 3.73B
- RT ToolBox3: unspecified ≤ Version 1.82L
- Setting/Monitoring tools for the C Controller module: unspecified ≤ SW3PVC-CCPU Version 3.13P, unspecified ≤ SW4PVC-CCPU Version 4.12N
- SLMP Data Collector: unspecified ≤ Version 1.04E
- Fixed
- No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
- Action
- No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
- Workaround
- No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 11 Feb 2022 · Last source change 16 Apr 2025, 18:01 UTC · CWE-428 · Unquoted Search Path or Element
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-6657
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
- CVSS
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
- CWE
- Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
- CNA
- CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
- CISA ADP
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
- NVD
- National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
- CERT / CSIRT
- A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
- PoC
- Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
- CSAF
- Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
- LoTL
- Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.