CVE-2024-22040 in Cerberus PRO EN Engineering Tool
Summary
by MITRE • 03/12/2024
A vulnerability has been identified in Cerberus PRO EN Engineering Tool (All versions), Cerberus PRO EN Fire Panel FC72x (All versions < IP8 SR4), Cerberus PRO EN X200 Cloud Distribution (All versions < V4.3.5618), Cerberus PRO EN X300 Cloud Distribution (All versions < V4.3.5617), Sinteso FS20 EN Engineering Tool (All versions), Sinteso FS20 EN Fire Panel FC20 (All versions < MP8 SR4), Sinteso FS20 EN X200 Cloud Distribution (All versions < V4.3.5618), Sinteso FS20 EN X300 Cloud Distribution (All versions < V4.3.5617), Sinteso Mobile (All versions). The network communication library in affected systems insufficiently validates HMAC values which might result in a buffer overread. This could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to crash the network service.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/16/2025
This vulnerability affects a range of industrial security and fire detection systems manufactured by Cerberus and Sinteso, including engineering tools, fire panels, and cloud distribution systems across multiple product lines. The flaw resides in the network communication library's handling of HMAC (Hash-based Message Authentication Code) values, which are critical for ensuring message integrity and authentication in secure communications. The insufficient validation of HMAC values represents a fundamental weakness in the cryptographic verification process that could be exploited by malicious actors to disrupt system operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability manifests as a buffer overread condition when processing network communications. When the system receives network packets containing HMAC values, the validation logic fails to properly check the boundaries of the message data structure, potentially causing the application to read beyond allocated memory buffers. This type of flaw falls under the CWE-121 buffer overflow category and can be classified as a remote code execution risk when combined with other exploitation techniques. The buffer overread condition occurs specifically during the HMAC validation phase of network packet processing, where malformed or specially crafted packets can trigger the memory access violation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the integrity of industrial security systems that rely on these platforms for fire detection and emergency response. An unauthenticated remote attacker could leverage this vulnerability to crash network services, effectively creating denial-of-service conditions that could leave critical facilities without proper fire detection capabilities. This is particularly concerning in industrial environments where continuous operation and system reliability are paramount for safety and security. The vulnerability affects multiple product versions across different hardware platforms, suggesting a systemic issue in the communication protocols rather than isolated component failures.
The attack surface for this vulnerability is extensive given the wide range of affected products and their deployment in critical infrastructure environments. Systems that rely on these platforms for fire safety monitoring could experience complete service outages, potentially leaving buildings or facilities vulnerable during emergency situations. The lack of authentication requirements for exploitation makes this particularly dangerous as attackers could target these systems from external networks without requiring valid credentials. Organizations should implement immediate network segmentation and monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts, while also planning for firmware updates to address the underlying HMAC validation issues. This vulnerability aligns with attack patterns documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1499 category for network disruption attacks and represents a significant risk to industrial control system security.