What CISOs need to know: ABB B&R Automation Runtime DoS Vulnerability in System Diagn
A dod_stig signal from CISA Cybersecurity Advisories - and what compliance teams should do this week.
Published 2026-05-26
# What CISOs need to know: ABB B&R Automation Runtime DoS Vulnerability in System Diagn
What happened
<p><a href="https://github.com/cisagov/CSAF/blob/develop/csaf_files/OT/white/2026/icsa-26-146-04.json"><strong>View CSAF</strong></a></p> <h2>Summary</h2> <p><strong>An update is available that resolves a vulnerability identified by B&Rs internal security analysis in the product versions listed as affected in this advisory. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could cause the product to stop.</strong></p> <p>The following versions of ABB B&R Automation Runtime DoS Vulnerability in System Diagnostics Manager (SDM) are affected:</p> <ul> <li>Automation Runtime <6.3</li> <li>Automation Runtime <Q4.93</li> </ul> <div class="csaf-table"> <table class="tablesaw tablesaw-stack"> <thead> <tr> <th>CVSS</th> <th>Vendor</th> <th>Equipment</th> <th>Vulnerabilities</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>v3 10</td> <td>B&R</td> <td>ABB B&R Automation Runtime DoS Vulnerability in System Diagnostics Manager (SDM)</td> <td>Improper Resource Locking</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <h3>Background</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Critical Infrastructure Sectors: </strong>Chemical, Communications, Critical Manufacturing, Dams, Energy, Healthcare and Public Health, Information Technology, Water and Wastewater</li> <li><strong>Countries/Areas Deployed: </strong>Worldwide</li> <li><strong>Company Headquarters Location: </strong>Switzerland</li> </ul> <hr /> <h2>Vulnerabilities</h2> <div class="csaf-accordion"> <p><a class="csaf-accordion-toggle-all" href="https://www.cisa.gov/">Expand All +</a></p> <div class="csaf-accordion-item"> <h3><a class="csaf-accordion-toggle" href="https://www.cisa.gov/">CVE-2025-3450</a></h3> <div class="csaf-accordion-content"> <p>An Improper Resource Locking vulnerability in the SDM component of B&R Automation Runtime versions before 6.3 and before Q4.93 may allow an unauthenticated network-based attacker to delete data causing denial of service conditions.</p> <p><a href="https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-3450">View CVE Details</a></p> <hr /> <h4>Affected Products</h4> <h5>ABB B&R Automation Runtime DoS Vulnerability in System Diagnostics Manager (SDM)</h5> <div class="ics-vendor-version-status"> <div class="ics-vendor"><strong>Vendor:</strong><br />B&R</div> <div class="ics-version"><strong>Product Version:</strong><br />Automation Runtime <6.3, Automation Runtime <Q4.93</div> <div class="ics-status"><strong>Product Status:</strong><br />fixed, known_affected</div> </div> <div class="ics-remediations"> <h6>Remediations</h6> <p><strong>Vendor fix</strong><br />The problem is corrected in Automation Runtime versions 6.3 and Q4.93. The System Diagnostic Manager (SDM) is disabled by default in Automation Runtime 6 and is not in-tended be enabled on active systems located outside properly secured production networks or in facilities lacking adequate physical and logical access controls to prevent any form of unauthorized interaction. For customers who use SDM on their systems, B&R recommends applying the update at the earliest convenience. The process to install updates is described in the user manual. The step to identify the installed product version is described in the user manual.</p> </div> <p><strong>Relevant CWE:</strong> <a href="https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/413.html">CWE-413 Improper Resource Locking</a></p> <hr /> <h4>Metrics</h4> <div class="csaf-table csaf-metrics-table"> <table class="tablesaw tablesaw-stack"> <thead> <tr> <th>CVSS Version</th> <th>Base Score</th> <th>Base Severity</th> <th>Vector String</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>3.1</td> <td>10</td> <td>CRITICAL</td> <td><a href="https://www.first.org/cvss/calculator/3.1#CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C">CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C</a></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </div> </div> </div> <hr /> <h2>Acknowledgments</h2> <ul> <li>ABB PSIRT reported this vulnerability to CISA.</li> </ul> <hr /> <h2>Notice</h2> <p>The information in this document is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by B&R. B&R provides no warranty, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, for the information contained in this document, and assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document. In no event shall B&R or any of its suppliers be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages of any nature or kind arising from the use of this document, or from the use of any hardware or software described in this document, even if B&R or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. This document and parts hereof must not be reproduced or copied without written permission from B&R, and the contents hereof must not be imparted to a third party nor used for any unauthorized purpose. All rights to registrations and trademarks reside with their respective owners.</p> <hr /> <h2>Mitigating factors</h2> <p>Deactivate the vulnerable component The SDM is deactivated by default on Automation Runtime version >=6.0. For Automation Runtime versions <6.0, the SDM can be deactivated in the Automation Studio project. Please refer to Automation Help GUID 1d915d67-07f7-4034-a472-c204b5cabbfe for further guidance. Access to the System Diagnostic Manager (SDM) shall be restricted to trusted personnel through appropriate external security measures. If SDM is required solely for maintenance purposes, it should be enabled or access granted only for the minimum time necessary to perform the task. Limit accessibility B&R recommends in general to configure the HTTP protocol over TLS (HTTPS). Customers may restrict access to the webserver by configuring mutual TLS (mTLS) in the Automation Studio project (Option “Validate SSL communication partner”). Be aware that configuring mTLS would impact also other applications using the AR webserver (e.g. mapp View). Please refer to Automation Help GUID 01ced6c0-28ef-4aaa-bd05-2442b971859c to learn more about the TLS Configuration in Automation Studio. In addition, accessibility of the webserver can be limited to trusted IP addresses using the Automation Runtime host-based firewall. Please refer to Automation Help GUID 75b8994b-f97a-4e0f-8278-43c7a737e65f for details. Refer to section “General security recommendations” for further advise on how to keep your system secure.</p> <hr /> <h2>Frequently asked questions</h2> <p>What causes the vulnerability? The vulnerabilities are caused by improper resource locking. What is System Diagnostics Manager (SDM)? System Diagnostics Manager (SDM) is a webpage available over the Automation Runtime Webserver, showing key diagnostic information of the running controller What is Automation Runtime (AR)? B&R Automation Runtime is a middleware system enabling customers to run applications on B&R target systems. What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do? An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could cause the affected system node to stop. How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability? An attacker could try to exploit the vulnerability by creating a specially crafted message and sending the message to an affected system node. This would require that the attacker has access to the system network, by connecting to the network either directly or through a wrongly configured or penetrated firewall, or that he installs malicious software on a system node or otherwise infects the network with malicious software. Recommended practices help mitigate such attacks, see section Mitigating Factors above. Could the vulnerability be exploited remotely? Yes, an attacker who has network access to an affected system node could exploit this vulnerability. Recommended practices include that process control systems are physically protected, have no direct connections to the Internet, and are separated from other networks
Source: CISA Cybersecurity Advisories
Why it matters
This signal sits squarely in the DoD STIG Readiness + ACAS / SCAP audit alignment territory. CISOs and compliance leads at mid-market EU/US organisations should map it to their control set within the next 7-14 days.
What to do this week
1. Read the source advisory in full and identify whether your environment is in scope. 2. Check existing controls against the requirement / vulnerability. 3. Document evidence of remediation or non-applicability - auditors will ask.
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