Missing Authentication for Critical Function
A Missing Authentication for Critical Function vulnerability in the Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories SEL-5037 SEL Grid Configurator could allow an attacker to run arbitrary commands on managed devices by an authorized device operator. See Instruction Manual Appendix A and Appendix E dated 20230615 for more details. This issue affects SEL-5037 SEL Grid Configurator: before 4.5.0.20.
- Published
- Aug 31, 2023
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.5% · 37th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-306
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Report tools
Action score
35
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 35 / 40 · 8.8 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.5%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- 8.8
- CNA · SEL
- 8.2
- 0.6 point gap
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for the hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities in the database; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| selinc | sel-5037 sel grid configurator | cpe:2.3:a:selinc:sel-5037_sel_grid_configurator |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- selinc sel-5037 sel grid configuratorbefore 4.5.0.20
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (SEL). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories SEL-5037 SEL Grid Configurator
- before 4.5.0.20affected
Same product
selinc: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2023-31175Execution with Unnecessary Privileges39Monitor
- CVE-2023-31173Use of Hard-coded Credentials33Monitor
- CVE-2023-31174Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)26Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
- Andrea Palanca and Gabriele QuagliarellaNozomi Networksreporter
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- A user must open a link or visit a page.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-306 · Missing Authentication for Critical FunctionCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvd-primary
Root cause
A function added for development or support ships to production without authentication. It often relies on the assumption that it is “only reachable from the internal network.”
The bug in code
The whole CWE-306 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
// Added for the support teamapp.post("/maintenance/reset", resetDevice);Fixed
if (config.maintenanceEnabled) { app.post( "/maintenance/reset", requireSession, requireRole("admin"), resetDevice );}Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
ATT&CK techniques
—
Change log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.