CVE-2024-35294: Network Device Information Disclosure Flaw

CVE-2024-35294 Overview

CVE-2024-35294 describes a missing authentication weakness [CWE-306] that allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to invoke a device's traffic capture functionality. The captured traffic exposes plaintext administrative credentials transmitted to or from the device. The advisory referenced in the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) points to a Schneider Electric security bulletin identifying the affected equipment.

Exploitation requires user interaction, as reflected in the CVSS vector, but no privileges or prior authentication. Once credentials are captured, an attacker can escalate to full administrative control of the device.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated attackers can harvest plaintext administrative credentials by abusing an exposed traffic capture feature, enabling downstream account takeover of the affected device.

Affected Products

Refer to the Schneider Electric Security Advisory for the authoritative product and version list
Specific product models and firmware versions were not enumerated in the NVD record
Deployments exposing the device management interface to untrusted networks are most at risk

Discovery Timeline

2024-10-02 - CVE-2024-35294 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-35294

Vulnerability Analysis

The affected device exposes a traffic capture (packet sniffing) feature that is reachable without authentication. An attacker who can direct a user to trigger the capture, or who can reach the endpoint directly over the network, can retrieve captured packets. Because administrative credentials traverse the device in plaintext, those credentials appear inside the captured stream.

The weakness maps to Missing Authentication for Critical Function [CWE-306]. Sensitive diagnostic capabilities should require authenticated, authorized access. Here, the diagnostic surface has been exposed with no access control, and the underlying management protocol lacks transport encryption.

Successful exploitation grants the attacker valid administrator credentials for the device. From that position, an adversary can modify configuration, disable protections, pivot into adjacent operational technology (OT) or IT networks, or persist through legitimate management channels.

Root Cause

Two defects combine to create the exposure. First, the traffic capture function is accessible without authentication. Second, administrative sessions are carried in cleartext rather than over an encrypted transport such as HTTPS or SSH. The capture feature therefore records credentials verbatim.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based with low complexity and requires user interaction. An attacker triggers or coerces execution of the traffic capture, retrieves the captured data, and extracts credentials from the plaintext management traffic. See the Schneider Electric Security Advisory for vendor-specific technical detail.

No verified public exploit code is available for CVE-2024-35294. The vulnerability mechanism is described here in prose rather than with synthetic proof-of-concept code.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-35294

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected invocations of the device's packet capture or diagnostic trace endpoint from unauthenticated sources
Outbound transfers of .pcap or capture artifacts from the device to unknown destinations
Administrative logins from new IP addresses shortly after a diagnostic capture event

Detection Strategies

Alert on any HTTP or management-plane request to traffic capture URLs that lacks a valid authenticated session cookie or token
Inspect management-plane traffic for cleartext credential patterns and flag devices that transmit administrator passwords without TLS
Correlate diagnostic feature activation with subsequent privileged configuration changes on the same device

Monitoring Recommendations

Log and forward device management access to a central platform such as Singularity Data Lake for retention and correlation
Monitor east-west network segments where OT and industrial devices reside for unauthorized access to management interfaces
Track administrative account usage baselines and alert on first-seen source addresses for privileged sessions

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-35294

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict access to the device's management interface to trusted administrative networks using firewall or ACL rules
Rotate administrative credentials on any device whose management traffic may have traversed untrusted networks
Review device logs for prior use of the traffic capture function by unauthenticated sources

Patch Information

Consult the Schneider Electric Security Advisory for vendor-supplied firmware updates and remediation instructions specific to affected models. The NVD record does not enumerate fixed versions directly.

Workarounds

Place affected devices behind a management jump host and block direct access from user or production VLANs
Disable or firewall the traffic capture endpoint if the vendor provides a configuration option to do so
Enforce encrypted management protocols (HTTPS, SSH) and disable cleartext alternatives where supported

bash

# Example firewall restriction limiting management access to a trusted subnet
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -s 10.10.20.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j DROP
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s 10.10.20.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP