CVE-2025-52873 Overview
CVE-2025-52873 affects Cognex In-Sight Explorer and In-Sight Camera Firmware. The devices expose a telnet-based management service on TCP port 23. This service permits operations such as firmware upgrades and device reboots after authentication. The vulnerability allows a user holding only protected privileges to invoke the SetSystemConfig function and modify device properties, including network settings. This behavior contradicts the access model documented in the vendor user manual and represents an incorrect permission assignment for a critical resource [CWE-732].
Critical Impact
Authenticated low-privilege users can alter network configuration on industrial vision devices, enabling device disruption and lateral movement within operational technology networks.
Affected Products
- Cognex In-Sight Explorer
- Cognex In-Sight Camera Firmware
- Industrial vision systems exposing telnet management on TCP/23
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-09-18 - CVE-2025-52873 published to the National Vulnerability Database
- 2026-04-15 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-52873
Vulnerability Analysis
The Cognex In-Sight platform implements a tiered authentication model. The user manual defines distinct privilege levels, with administrative operations such as network configuration changes reserved for higher-tier accounts. The telnet service on port 23 enforces authentication for management commands but does not correctly map the SetSystemConfig command to the documented privilege boundary.
As a result, an account at the protected privilege level can issue SetSystemConfig calls. This function adjusts core device properties, including IP configuration, gateway addresses, and related network parameters. The exposure violates the principle of least privilege and breaks the trust model that integrators rely on when provisioning operator accounts.
The issue maps to [CWE-732] Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource. The vulnerability impacts integrity and availability rather than confidentiality, since the abused function rewrites configuration rather than reading sensitive data.
Root Cause
The root cause is a missing authorization check inside the telnet command handler for SetSystemConfig. The handler validates that the session is authenticated but does not verify that the authenticated principal holds the administrative role required to mutate system configuration.
Attack Vector
An attacker requires network reach to TCP port 23 on the device and valid credentials for any account with protected privileges. The attacker opens a telnet session, authenticates, and issues the SetSystemConfig command with crafted parameters. The device applies the changes without performing role validation.
The vulnerability mechanism is described in prose because no verified proof-of-concept code is published. Operators should consult the CISA ICS Advisory ICSA-25-261-06 for vendor-specific technical context.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-52873
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected telnet sessions to TCP port 23 on In-Sight cameras from hosts outside the engineering workstation subnet.
- Unplanned changes to camera IP address, subnet mask, or default gateway in device audit logs.
- Authentication events for protected accounts followed by configuration write operations.
Detection Strategies
- Monitor network flows for telnet traffic to In-Sight devices and alert on sessions originating from non-approved sources.
- Compare device configuration snapshots against a known-good baseline at regular intervals to surface unauthorized changes.
- Correlate telnet authentication logs with subsequent SetSystemConfig invocations to identify privilege misuse.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable verbose logging on In-Sight devices and forward logs to a central collector for retention and analysis.
- Track all administrative command invocations with timestamps, source IP, and authenticated user identifiers.
- Apply network segmentation monitoring to detect any cross-zone telnet activity reaching the OT network.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-52873
Immediate Actions Required
- Restrict TCP port 23 access on In-Sight devices to a dedicated engineering management VLAN using firewall or ACL rules.
- Rotate credentials for all protected and higher-tier accounts and remove unused operator accounts.
- Inventory exposed In-Sight devices and confirm none are reachable from corporate or internet-facing networks.
Patch Information
Refer to the CISA ICS Advisory ICSA-25-261-06 for vendor remediation guidance. Apply firmware updates from Cognex when available for the affected In-Sight Explorer and In-Sight Camera Firmware versions.
Workarounds
- Disable the telnet service on port 23 where the management functions are not actively required.
- Place In-Sight cameras behind a jump host and require multi-factor authentication for operator access to that host.
- Deploy strict network segmentation between IT and OT zones to prevent lateral reach to industrial vision endpoints.
# Example firewall restriction limiting telnet to a single management host
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 23 -s 10.20.30.40 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 23 -j DROP
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
