CVE-2025-13913: Ignition Software Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-13913 Overview

CVE-2025-13913 is a vulnerability affecting Inductive Automation Ignition Software where an unauthenticated API endpoint exposure may allow an attacker to remotely change the "forgot password" recovery email address. This vulnerability impacts industrial control system (ICS) environments where Ignition is commonly deployed for SCADA and HMI applications.

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data), indicating that the exposed API endpoint may improperly handle untrusted input, potentially allowing attackers to manipulate password recovery mechanisms without proper authentication.

Critical Impact

An attacker with adjacent network access could exploit this vulnerability to take control of password recovery processes, potentially leading to account takeover and unauthorized access to industrial control systems.

Affected Products

• Inductive Automation Ignition Software (specific versions not disclosed)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-12 - CVE-2025-13913 published to NVD
• 2026-03-12 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-13913

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability involves an unauthenticated API endpoint that controls the password recovery email address functionality within Inductive Automation Ignition Software. The core issue stems from improper access control on a sensitive API endpoint that should require authentication before allowing modifications to account recovery settings.

The attack requires adjacent network access, meaning an attacker must be on the same network segment as the vulnerable Ignition instance. While this limits remote exploitation from the internet, it presents significant risk in industrial environments where network segmentation may be incomplete or where insider threats exist.

The vulnerability's classification under CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data) suggests that the API endpoint may process serialized objects without adequate validation, potentially allowing attackers to craft malicious requests that bypass intended authentication mechanisms.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the exposure of a sensitive API endpoint without proper authentication controls. The endpoint responsible for managing password recovery email addresses fails to verify that requests originate from authenticated users, allowing any party with network access to modify these settings.

This represents a broken access control flaw where administrative functionality is exposed without appropriate authorization checks. In industrial control system environments, such misconfigurations can have severe consequences, as attackers could use account takeover as a pivot point for deeper system compromise.

Attack Vector

The attack vector requires adjacent network access, meaning the attacker must be positioned on the same local network or network segment as the target Ignition server. From this position, an attacker can:

1. Identify the vulnerable Ignition API endpoint
2. Send unauthenticated requests to modify the password recovery email address
3. Replace the legitimate recovery email with an attacker-controlled address
4. Trigger a password reset for target accounts
5. Receive the reset token at the attacker-controlled email
6. Complete account takeover and gain unauthorized access

The attack does not require user interaction on the part of the victim, though certain conditions must be met including high privilege access context for full exploitation.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-13913

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected changes to password recovery email addresses in Ignition user accounts
• Anomalous API requests to password recovery endpoints from unexpected network sources
• Authentication logs showing password reset attempts following email address changes
• Network traffic to the Ignition API from unrecognized adjacent network hosts

Detection Strategies

• Monitor API access logs for unauthenticated requests to password management endpoints
• Implement alerting on changes to password recovery email addresses for privileged accounts
• Deploy network monitoring to identify unusual traffic patterns to Ignition servers
• Review authentication logs for password reset sequences following configuration changes

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on Ignition API endpoints, particularly those related to user management
• Configure SIEM rules to correlate API configuration changes with subsequent authentication events
• Implement network segmentation monitoring to detect unauthorized adjacent network access
• Establish baseline behavior for password recovery operations and alert on deviations

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-13913

Immediate Actions Required

• Review network segmentation to limit adjacent network access to Ignition servers
• Audit current password recovery email addresses for all accounts to identify unauthorized changes
• Implement network access controls to restrict API endpoint access to trusted hosts only
• Enable multi-factor authentication where supported to reduce account takeover impact

Patch Information

Organizations should consult the CISA ICS Advisory ICSA-26-071-06 for official remediation guidance and patch availability from Inductive Automation. The Inductive Automation Security Hardening Guide provides additional security configuration recommendations.

Technical details and machine-readable vulnerability information are available in the GitHub CSAF Document.

Workarounds

• Implement strict network segmentation to isolate Ignition servers from untrusted network segments
• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) or API gateway to filter unauthenticated requests to sensitive endpoints
• Disable or restrict access to password recovery functionality until a patch is available
• Use out-of-band verification for any password recovery email address changes
• Consider implementing IP allowlisting for API access to critical endpoints