CVE-2021-45117

Beckhoff EK9160 (TcOpcUaServer) — vulnerability CVE-2021-45117

The OPC autogenerated ANSI C stack stubs (in the NodeSets) do not handle all error cases. This can lead to a NULL pointer dereference.

CVSS 6.5No patch available

This record: live connection— last retrieved: 7 November 2026 at 15:23.

Vendor

Beckhoff

Products

EK9160 (TcOpcUaServer), IPC Diagnostic UA Server on windows images (MDP UA Server), TF2110 (Setup), TF6100, TS6100

up to version <3.2.0.239

Published

21 March 2022

Last modified

17 June 2026

Original source information

Taken directly from NVD, CISA or the vendor — sometimes in English, unchanged from the source.

Technical description

The OPC autogenerated ANSI C stack stubs (in the NodeSets) do not handle all error cases. This can lead to a NULL pointer dereference.

CVSS 3.1 — vector details

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack vector

NETWORK

Privileges required

NONE

User interaction

REQUIRED

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

EPSS — Exploit Prediction Scoring System

Probability of exploitation within 30 days

1.4%

Percentile

73e

Source: FIRST.org, updated on 6 November 2026.

Patch information

Have your applications configured to use other than SecurityMode=None for all OPC UA connections. Avoid that these connect to an unknown OPC UA server with SecurityMode=None. In particular, avoid that your applications connect to servers which they discover via mDNS, a Local Discovery Server (LDS), an untrusted Global Discovery Server (GDS) or even trusted GDS using SecurityMode=none. Especially in the latter case an adversary might be able to apply the 'man in the middle' pattern to attack the connection and inject a bad message which triggers the vulnerability.

IACS Radar assessment

Our own interpretation and context for the source data above.

IACS Radar assessment

Our own interpretation and context for this vulnerability — not an official source.

IACS Radar priority score

44/ 100

Based on CVSS 6.5, EPSS 1.4%, industrial relevance 60/100.

Combines CVSS, EPSS, KEV status, industrial relevance and exposure relevance — a complement to, not a replacement for, the individual scores below and above.

Conditions for exploitation

•Network access to the affected device or segment is required.
•No valid credentials are needed.
•User interaction (for example opening a file) is required.

Operational impact & energy relevance

Possible loss of visibility of or control over the process upon successful exploitation.

Assessed as relevant to the energy sector based on: Vermeld in een officiële CISA ICS Advisory, wat directe relevantie voor industriële besturingssystemen bevestigt. Vendor "Beckhoff" is a known supplier of equipment for the energy sector. Description mentions industrial protocol: opc-ua.

Recommended defensive measures

•Apply the latest firmware or software update and validate its integrity.
•Restrict network access to the affected device to a dedicated OT management segment.
•Implement network segmentation in line with zones and conduits (IEC 62443-3-2).
•Monitor for abnormal protocol traffic using an OT-aware detection system.

Industrial relevance score

60/ 100

• Mentioned in an official CISA ICS advisory, which confirms direct relevance to industrial control systems.
• Vendor "Beckhoff" is a known supplier of equipment for the energy sector.
• Description mentions industrial protocol: opc-ua.

Automatically classified as industrially relevant based on CISA/NVD signals (see reasons).

Classified by IACS Radar-analysepijplijn (geautomatiseerd) on 7 November 2026.

IEC 62443 mapping

IEC 62443-4-1FR3 · Systeemintegriteit

Automatic IACS Radar assessment based on the reported CWE weakness classification; not an official certification statement.

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