BlackTreeCVE Intelligence
← Back to the CVE catalogue
Full vulnerability report · 2021
CVE-2021-32498High confidence

SICK SOPAS ET before version 4.8.0 allows attackers to manipulate the pathname of the emulator and use path traversal to run an arbitrary executable located on the host system

Unknown · SICK SOPAS ET

8.6HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Within 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Patch available
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityHighOperational priority:High, unchanged from published severity.unchanged

Evidence used

  • No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
  • EPSS is 0.94% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
  • Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
  • Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Unknown SICK SOPAS ET and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 30 daysRemediation target: Within 180 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Direct vendor intelligence

Authoritative vendor CSAF and VEX advisories

Structured product status and remediation from the issuing vendor. Product-state explanations are always visible; large lists can be searched or downloaded.

1 current
SCA-2021-0004 · CSAF 2.0 · revision 3 · finalSICK PSIRTVulnerabilities in SICK SOPAS ET
1 known affected

The vendor explicitly identifies these products as affected by this CVE.

  • SICK SOPAS Engineering Tool <2021.4 (4.8.0)
Summary
When an SDD contains an emulator, the emulator location is part of the SDD manifest. Attackers could manipulate this location and use path traversal to target an arbitrary executable located on the host system. When the user starts the emulator from SOPAS ET, the corresponding executable will be started instead of the emulator.
Remediation
Update to at least version 4.8.0
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2021-19344

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionWithin 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Patch available
01

What, why and how

SICK SOPAS ET before version 4.8.0 allows attackers to manipulate the pathname of the emulator and use path traversal to run an arbitrary executable located on the host system. When the user starts the emulator from SOPAS ET the corresponding executable will be started instead of the emulator

What

SICK SOPAS ET before version 4.8.0 allows attackers to manipulate the pathname of the emulator and use path traversal to run an arbitrary executable located on the host system. When the user starts the emulator from SOPAS ET the corresponding executable will be started instead of the emulator

Why

Attacker-controlled path data is not constrained to the intended directory before the application accesses a file.

How

An attacker operating through local access 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

SICK SOPAS ET before version 4.8.0 allows attackers to manipulate the pathname of the emulator and use path traversal to run an arbitrary executable located on the host system. When the user starts the emulator from SOPAS ET the corresponding executable will be started instead of the emulator

Why

Attacker-controlled path data is not constrained to the intended directory before the application accesses a file.

How

An attacker operating through local access 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
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

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
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

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
local access → Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Local
Privileges required
None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
User interaction
Required interaction required
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Changed: exploitation can affect a different security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-22 ↗

CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal'). The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.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
The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.
UnauthenticatedCWE-22
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20211222Security Bulletin 22 Dec 2021

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 22 Dec 2021, published on 22 December 2021. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2021-016852SICK SOPAS ET におけるパストラバーサルの脆弱性

SICK SOPAS ET には、パストラバーサルの脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
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.
Patch available
Affected
SICK SOPAS Engineering Tool <2021.4 (4.8.0)
Fixed
SICK SOPAS Engineering Tool 4.8.0
Action
Update to at least version 4.8.0
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 17 Dec 2021 · Last source change 3 Aug 2024, 23:17 UTC · CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2021-19344
Product sourceVendor CSAF · SICK PSIRT
Remediation sourceVendor CSAF · SICK PSIRT
CWE sourceNIST NVD
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Missing structured fields: affected product. Missing data is not evidence of low risk; review the primary advisory.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    all versions before 4.8.0 · Fixed: An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
    After
    all versions before 4.8.0 · Fixed: Update to at least version 4.8.0
    SICK PSIRT ↗
  2. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: added remediation: sick.com/special_information_sick_operating_guidelines_cybersecurity_by_sick_en_im0106719.pdf; removed remediation: cve.mitre.org/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2021-32498.
    Before
    remediation: cve.mitre.org/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2021-32498
    After
    remediation: sick.com/special_information_sick_operating_guidelines_cybersecurity_by_sick_en_im0106719.pdf
    SICK PSIRT ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Fixed release or patch reference recorded
Fixed release recorded from official guidance
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2021-19344↗SICK PSIRT security advisory↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
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.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2021-32498 · cve.blacktree.nl