Remote NULL dereference in libIEC61850 MMS Read crashes servers
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-129 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
libIEC61850 before 1.6.2, an open-source implementation of IEC 61850 client and server protocols, does not validate the range of an alternate-access sub-array in MMS Read processing. An out-of-range element lookup returns NULL, which is then dereferenced (CWE-476). A remote attacker without authentication can send an MMS Read request to crash servers whose data models contain arrays, causing a denial of service.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-28
Description from the CNA
libIEC61850 is an open-source implementation of IEC 61850 client and server protocols including MMS, GOOSE, Sampled Values, and R-Session. Prior to 1.6.2, alternateArrayAccess in src/mms/iso_mms/server/mms_read_service.c does not validate an alternate-access sub-array range when numberOfElements is greater than zero. An out-of-range MmsValue_getElement call returns NULL, and the sub-array branch passes that value to MmsValue_isDeletable, causing a NULL pointer dereference. A remote MMS Read request can therefore crash servers whose data models contain arrays, while the single-element error path handles the same invalid index safely. This issue is fixed in version 1.6.2.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MZ Automation | libiec61850 | before 1.6.2 | 1.6.2 | Patch available | CNA |
- libiec61850 VendorMZ Automation Affected before 1.6.2 Fixed in 1.6.2 Patch available CNA
CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1
Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:mz-automation:libiec61850:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | — | — | MZ Automation |
- cpe:2.3:a:mz-automation:libiec61850:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·MZ Automation
Remediation
Upgrade libiec61850 to version 1.6.2, which fixes this issue. Versions before 1.6.2 are affected.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-28
- Fix · CNA libiec61850 (mz-automation) Fixed in 1.6.2
Timeline
- 2026-10-16 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-48741
- 2026-10-18 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
- 2026-10-21 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-21 Priority changed: LOW → HIGH
References
More MZ Automation vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-75355 Infinite loop and out-of-bounds read in libIEC61850 ACSE parsing CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-75344 Remote information disclosure in libIEC61850 MMS file service CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2024-18824 In mz-automation libiec61850 v1.4.0, a NULL Pointer Dereference was detected in the… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2022-05561 Infinite loop in MZ Automation libiec61850 CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2026-45011 MZ Automation lib60870 Out-of-bounds Read CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.9
- TI-2026-44285 MZ Automation lib60870 Out-of-bounds Read CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.9
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences