CVE-2026-22645: Information Disclosure Vulnerability

CVE-2026-22645 Overview

CVE-2026-22645 is an Information Disclosure vulnerability that affects SICK industrial components. The application discloses all used components, versions and license information to unauthenticated actors, giving attackers the opportunity to target known security vulnerabilities of used components. This type of information exposure (CWE-200) can significantly aid adversaries in reconnaissance activities and planning targeted attacks against deployed systems.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can enumerate software components, version numbers, and license information, enabling targeted exploitation of known vulnerabilities in exposed dependencies.

Affected Products

• SICK industrial application components (refer to SICK CSAF Advisory for specific product details)

Discovery Timeline

• January 15, 2026 - CVE-2026-22645 published to NVD
• January 16, 2026 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-22645

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability represents a classic information disclosure flaw where the application exposes sensitive metadata about its internal architecture to unauthenticated users. The exposed information includes component names, version numbers, and licensing details—all of which can be leveraged by attackers to identify vulnerable dependencies and craft targeted exploits.

The vulnerability requires no privileges or user interaction to exploit, making it accessible to any network-adjacent attacker. While the direct impact is limited to confidentiality (no integrity or availability impact), the intelligence gathered can serve as a stepping stone for more severe attacks against the affected system.

Root Cause

The root cause stems from improper access controls on endpoints or interfaces that serve application metadata. The application fails to implement authentication or authorization checks before disclosing detailed component information, violating the principle of least privilege and exposing internal implementation details that should remain confidential.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, allowing remote exploitation without requiring any credentials or user interaction. An attacker can simply query the vulnerable endpoint or interface to retrieve a complete inventory of the application's software stack. This information can then be cross-referenced against public vulnerability databases to identify known CVEs affecting the disclosed component versions.

The exploitation process typically follows these reconnaissance steps:

1. Attacker identifies the exposed endpoint serving component information
2. Unauthenticated request retrieves full component manifest including versions
3. Attacker correlates disclosed versions against public vulnerability databases
4. Known vulnerabilities in disclosed components become targets for further exploitation

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-22645

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected HTTP requests to endpoints serving component/version information from external IP addresses
• Repeated enumeration attempts querying license or dependency information endpoints
• Network traffic patterns consistent with automated reconnaissance tools scanning for exposed metadata

Detection Strategies

• Monitor web server access logs for unauthenticated requests to paths that expose version or component information
• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to alert on suspicious enumeration patterns targeting metadata endpoints
• Deploy network intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for common reconnaissance tool fingerprints
• Review application logs for unusual access patterns to component information endpoints

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging on all endpoints that serve application metadata
• Configure alerting for access attempts to sensitive configuration or component endpoints from untrusted networks
• Implement rate limiting and monitoring on publicly accessible interfaces to detect enumeration attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-22645

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to affected SICK components using firewall rules to limit exposure to trusted networks only
• Review and implement authentication requirements for any endpoints exposing component or version information
• Follow CISA ICS Recommended Practices for securing industrial control systems
• Consult the SICK Cybersecurity Operating Guidelines for vendor-recommended hardening procedures

Patch Information

Refer to the official SICK PSIRT Security Portal for the latest security advisories and patches. The complete security advisory is available via the SICK CSAF Advisory (PDF) and SICK CSAF Advisory (JSON).

Workarounds

• Implement network segmentation to isolate affected devices from untrusted networks
• Deploy a reverse proxy with authentication requirements in front of vulnerable endpoints
• Use access control lists (ACLs) to restrict access to management interfaces to authorized IP ranges only
• Disable or remove any unnecessary endpoints that expose version or component information if not required for operations

# Example firewall configuration to restrict access to affected devices
# Restrict management interface access to trusted network only
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -s 10.0.0.0/8 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s 10.0.0.0/8 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j DROP
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP