CVE-2014-0762 in ePAQ-9410 Substation Gateway
Summary
by MITRE
The DNP3 driver in CG Automation ePAQ-9410 Substation Gateway allows physically proximate attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop or process crash) via crafted input over a serial line.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/19/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-0762 affects the DNP3 driver component within the CG Automation ePAQ-9410 Substation Gateway, a critical piece of industrial control system hardware designed for power substation applications. This device operates as a gateway that facilitates communication between field devices and supervisory control systems, making it a potential target for attackers seeking to disrupt critical infrastructure operations. The DNP3 protocol implementation within this gateway represents a fundamental communication layer that handles data exchange between remote terminals and master stations in electrical power systems, where reliability and availability are paramount for grid stability.
The technical flaw manifests through insufficient input validation within the DNP3 driver's serial communication handling mechanism. When attackers position themselves physically close to the device and transmit specially crafted data packets over the serial interface, the system fails to properly process these malformed inputs. This processing failure results in either an infinite loop within the driver's execution flow or a complete process crash that terminates the communication service. The vulnerability specifically targets the protocol parsing logic that interprets incoming DNP3 frames, where the absence of proper bounds checking and input sanitization allows malicious data sequences to trigger unexpected behavior in the driver's state machine.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the integrity of critical power grid operations. Power substation gateways serve as crucial bridges in the electrical infrastructure, and any denial of service condition can lead to communication breakdowns between monitoring systems and field devices. The infinite loop condition could consume system resources continuously, while process crashes might require manual intervention or system restarts that could delay critical control operations. This vulnerability particularly threatens the availability aspect of the CIA triad, as it directly enables attackers to deny legitimate users access to essential communication services within the substation environment. The physical proximity requirement limits the attack surface to local network access but does not eliminate the threat, as physical access to substation equipment is often limited to authorized personnel, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for insider threat scenarios.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-0762 should focus on both immediate operational responses and long-term architectural improvements. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit physical access to substation equipment, while regular firmware updates should be applied to address known vulnerabilities. The implementation of input validation mechanisms and proper error handling within protocol drivers aligns with CWE-129 principles for input validation and CWE-399 for resource management. From an operational security perspective, the vulnerability demonstrates the need for defensive design practices that incorporate fault tolerance and robust error handling, following ATT&CK technique T1499 for network denial of service and T1566 for credential access through physical access. Organizations should also implement monitoring solutions that can detect unusual process behavior or resource consumption patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, while maintaining detailed audit logs of physical access to critical infrastructure components.