The airbag detonation algorithm allows injury to passenger-car occupants via predictable Security Access (SA) data to the internal CAN bus (
The airbag detonation algorithm allows injury to passenger-car occupants via predictable Security Access (SA) data to the internal CAN bus (or the OBD connector). This affects the airbag control units (aka pyrotechnical control units or PCUs) of unspecified passenger vehicles manufactured in 2014 or later, when the ignition is on and the speed is less than 6 km/h. Specifically, there are only 256 possible key pairs, and authentication attempts have no rate limit. In addition, at least one manufacturer's interpretation of the ISO 26021 standard is that it must be possible to calculate the key directly (i.e., the other 255 key pairs must not be used). Exploitation would typically involve an attacker who has already gained access to the CAN bus, and sends a crafted Unified Diagnostic Service (UDS) message to detonate the pyrotechnical charges, resulting in the same passenger-injury risks as in any airbag deployment.
- Published
- Oct 20, 2017
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 1.0% · 61th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-327
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Report tools
Action score
18
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 18 / 40 · 4.7 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 1.0%
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| pcu | pcu | cpe:2.3:h:pcu:pcu |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- pcu pcu2014
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
Weaponized
A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.
Evidence
- Metasploit module ×1
Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.
| Source | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Metasploit module | post/hardware/automotive/pdtCheck For and Prep the Pyrotechnic Devices (Airbags, Battery Clamps, etc.)post | — |
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.
No credits in the CNA record.
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
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- No user action is required.
- Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- none
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- High
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- None
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-327 · Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic AlgorithmCVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
nvd-primary
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)
- Encryption Brute ForcingCAPEC-20likelihood: Low · Low
- Creating a Rogue Certification Authority CertificateCAPEC-459likelihood: Medium · Very High
- Signature SpoofCAPEC-473
- Signature Spoofing by Improper ValidationCAPEC-475likelihood: Low · High
- Cryptanalysis of Cellular EncryptionCAPEC-608High
- Rooting SIM CardsCAPEC-614High
- CryptanalysisCAPEC-97likelihood: Low · Very High
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; 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 helpChange log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
- www.mmt.hs-karlsruhe.de/downloads/IEEM/Schwachstellen/PCU_Vulnerability_Description_HsKA.PDF
- www.rapid7.com/db/modules/post/hardware/automotive/pdt
- www.researchgate.net/publication/321183727_Security_Evaluation_of_an_Airbag-ECU_by_Reusing_Threat_Modeling_Artefacts
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.