CVE-2023-6448
CVE-2023-6448 — Unitronics Vision PLC and HMI Insecure Default Password Vulnerability
Unitronics VisiLogic before version 9.9.00, used in Vision and Samba PLCs and HMIs, uses a default administrative password. An unauthenticated attacker with network access can take administrative control of a vulnerable system.
Published Updated Sources: NVD, CISA, FIRST EPSS
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the scoring sources call it.
Exploitation
Confirmed
CISA KEV, listed Dec 11, 2023
EPSS
2%
ahead of 80% of scored CVEs
CVSS base
9.8
critical
CISA SSVC assessment
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses · SSVC 2.0.3. A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Exploitation
Active
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
Yes
can an attacker script all four kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component
Remediation
The vendor's own words where we have them.
Upgrade visilogic to a fixed release. Apply vendor patches per advisory and restrict external exposure of the affected component until patched.
CISA required action
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Federal deadline Dec 18, 2023 — passed 1,000 days ago
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record's own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found.
- Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations.
- Treat as emergency remediation because CISA KEV status is present.
- Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and version as the advisories word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| unitronics | visilogic | — | Vulnerable |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Availability
High
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Scope
Unchanged
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Vector
Network
Privileges Req
None
User Interaction
None
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | CVSS 3.1 | critical | 3.9 | 5.9 | CNA, NVD |
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness & attack patterns
- CWE-1188
- CWE-798Use of Hard-coded Credentials
Inferred from the weakness class — not observed against this CVE.
- T1211Exploitation for Defensive Evasion
- T1542.002Pre-OS Boot: Component Firmware
- T1556Modify Authentication Process
CISA KEV details
CISA lists a CVE here once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.
Listed
Dec 11, 2023
Federal deadline
Dec 18, 2023
passed 1,000 days ago
Ransomware use
Unknown
CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a date to argue against.
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not rules we have tested.
- Prioritize edge telemetry for network-reachable visilogic.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first — with the readings a source repeats on a schedule counted underneath rather than listed.
- 2026
Added · CVSS 3.1 9.8 (AV:N)
Jun 17, 2026 · NVD
- 2023
Added to CISA KEV catalog
Dec 11, 2023 · CISA
Initial · CVE published
Dec 5, 2023 · NVD
References
6 on the record
- downloads.unitronicsplc.com/Sites/plc/Technical_Library/Unitronics-Cybersecurity-Advisory-2023-001-CVE-2023-6448.pdf
Vendor Advisory
- downloads.unitronicsplc.com/Sites/plc/Visilogic/Version_Changes-Bug_Reports/VisiLogic%209.9.00%20Version%20changes.pdf
Release Notes
- www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2023/11/28/exploitation-unitronics-plcs-used-water-and-wastewater-systems
Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource
- www.unitronicsplc.com/cyber_security_vision-samba/
Product
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-6448
US Government Resource
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-6448
Vendor Advisory
Elsewhere on this site
- unitronicsevery CVE for this vendor
- December 2023what else CISA listed
- Credentialssame class
- CWE-1188other pages naming this weakness
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record1
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2023-6448 is Unitronics Vision PLC and HMI Insecure Default Password Vulnerability, a critical vulnerability affecting visilogic from unitronics. The current evidence lists it in CISA KEV, and the exploit status is: Yes: CISA KEV signal present. Public exploit evidence is: A public PoC is not confirmed from current sources for CVE-2023-6448. The affected-version evidence is listed in the key facts and affected products tables. Defenders should first verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run those versions, then apply vendor patches or mitigations, restrict reachable attack surface, and preserve logs for detection review. CVSS 9.8 describes technical severity, while EPSS 2% helps estimate near-term exploit likelihood; neither replaces asset context. Unknown fields should remain explicit in tickets, and threat actor, IOC, victimology, or payload claims should not be added unless a cited source supports them. Monitor CISA KEV, vendor advisories, NVD changes, public PoC repositories, and internal telemetry for update triggers.