High-severity buffer overflow in widely deployed ABB Freelance OT controllers that can disrupt industrial processes and cause physical impact.
CVE-2023-5778
Buffer-overflow in ABB Freelance controllers enabling remote code execution or DoS
do firstUpgrade to a fixed release: 2019 SP1 FP1, 2024.
Is CVE-2023-5778 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2023-5778 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.46% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2023-5778?
CVE-2023-5778 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.2. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2023-5778?
Not known from our data. No patch reference has been recorded for CVE-2023-5778, which is not the same as no patch existing — a fix may have shipped without a tagged reference, or after this record was written. The vendor advisory is the only authority on whether a fix exists, and mitigations may be available regardless.
What does CVE-2023-5778 affect?
CVE-2023-5778 affects ABB Freelance Controller DCP (through 2013,2013 SP1,2016,2016 SP1,2019,2019 SP1), ABB Freelance Controller AC700 (through 2013,2013 SP1,2016,2016 SP1,2019,2019 SP1), ABB Freelance Controller AC800 (through 2013,2013 SP1,2016,2016 SP1,2019,2019 SP1), ABB Freelance Controller AC900 (through 2013,2013 SP1,2016,2016 SP1,2019,2019 SP1). Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2023-5778?
Isolate controllers, restrict network access, apply vendor updates/mitigations when released, and monitor logs.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Length-parameter handling flaw (CWE-130) can trigger buffer overflow allowing remote code execution or denial-of-service on controllers, disrupting industrial processes.
Immediate action required
- affected<= 2013
- affected2013 SP1
- affected2016
- affected2016 SP1
- affected2019
- affected2019 SP1
- affected<= 2013
- affected2013 SP1
- affected2016
- affected2016 SP1
- affected2019
- affected2019 SP1
- affected<= 2013
- affected2013 SP1
- affected2016
- affected2016 SP1
- affected2019
- affected2019 SP1
- affected<= 2013
- affected2013 SP1
- affected2016
- affected2016 SP1
- affected2019
- affected2019 SP1
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
cisa ssvc
- exploitation
- none
- automatable
- yes
- technical impact
- partial
Assessed by CISA 18 Sept 2026 (SSVC 2.0.3).
timeline
- 18 Sept 2026Published
- 18 Sept 2026CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none · same day later
- 18 Sept 2026CVE record last updated · same day later
- 19 Sept 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com · 1 day later
- Linksearch.abb.com /library/Download.aspx?DocumentID=7PAA010706&LanguageCode=en&DocumentPartId=&Act
sources
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.