CVE-2025-53969

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-53969 exposes a critical vulnerability in Cognex In-Sight Explorer and In-Sight Camera Firmware. The affected devices expose a proprietary protocol on TCP port 1069, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to perform management operations such as changing network settings or modifying user access controls. With a CVSS score of 8.8, this vulnerability poses a severe risk to industrial environments relying on Cognex vision systems. The lack of authentication mechanisms on this service enables potential full compromise of device configuration and operational integrity.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is not related to NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby packages. It affects proprietary Cognex firmware and software, which are distributed directly by the vendor. Organizations should verify the integrity of downloaded firmware and software from official Cognex channels and ensure no tampered versions are deployed.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 8.8 (High)
• Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
• Attack Vector: Network
• Attack Complexity: Low
• Privileges Required: None
• User Interaction: None
• Scope: Unchanged
• Confidentiality Impact: High
• Integrity Impact: High
• Availability Impact: High

The high base score reflects the ease of exploitation (no authentication, low complexity) and the severe impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. An attacker can remotely reconfigure the device, potentially disrupting production lines or exfiltrating sensitive visual data.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in a proprietary service listening on TCP port 1069. This service is designed to allow the In-Sight Explorer client software to perform management operations. However, the service lacks any authentication or authorization checks, meaning any network entity that can reach the port can send arbitrary commands.

The protocol is proprietary and undocumented, but based on the description, it likely uses binary or structured text commands to perform actions such as:

• Changing IP address, subnet mask, gateway
• Adding, modifying, or deleting user accounts
• Resetting device to factory defaults
• Retrieving device configuration and logs

An attacker can craft packets to exploit this service without any prior knowledge of credentials. The service runs with high privileges, allowing full control over the device's operating system and camera functions.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, there is no patched code to compare. The vulnerable code is the entire service implementation on port 1069. A hypothetical patch would require implementing authentication (e.g., username/password, certificate-based) and authorization checks for every management command. Additionally, the service should enforce encryption (TLS) to prevent eavesdropping and replay attacks.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Lab Setup:

1. Obtain a Cognex In-Sight camera (e.g., 7000 series) or use a virtualized environment if available.
2. Connect the device to an isolated network segment.
3. Use a tool like nmap to verify port 1069 is open: nmap -p 1069 <target_ip>.
4. Use a network protocol analyzer (e.g., Wireshark) to capture legitimate traffic from In-Sight Explorer to understand the protocol structure.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Since no public exploit exists, reverse engineer the protocol by capturing traffic between In-Sight Explorer and the camera.
2. Identify command patterns for changing network settings or user accounts.
3. Write a Python script using socket to send crafted packets. Example skeleton:

import socket

def send_command(target_ip, command_bytes):
    sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
    sock.settimeout(5)
    try:
        sock.connect((target_ip, 1069))
        sock.send(command_bytes)
        response = sock.recv(4096)
        print(f"Response: {response}")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}")
    finally:
        sock.close()

# Example: change IP (hypothetical command)
command = b"\x01\x02\x03\x04"  # Replace with actual bytes
send_command("192.168.1.100", command)

4. Test the script to verify unauthorized changes.

Blue Team

Detection & Response:

1. Monitor network traffic for unexpected connections to TCP port 1069 from unknown IPs.
2. Implement network segmentation to isolate Cognex devices from untrusted networks.
3. Use host-based firewalls to restrict access to port 1069 only from authorized management stations.
4. Enable logging on the device (if supported) to track configuration changes.
5. Regularly audit device configurations for unauthorized modifications.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:

  • Unexpected connections to TCP port 1069 on Cognex devices.
  • Traffic patterns showing repeated connection attempts from non-management IPs.
  • Unusual data payloads on port 1069 (e.g., binary sequences not matching normal In-Sight Explorer traffic).

• Host IOCs:

  • Changes to device network settings without authorized user action.
  • New user accounts appearing in device configuration.
  • Device logs showing management operations from unknown sources.

• File IOCs:

  • No specific file-based IOCs as the vulnerability is network-based.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_53969_Cognex_Exploit {
    meta:
        description = "Detects network traffic targeting Cognex In-Sight port 1069 with potential exploit payloads"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-53969"
    strings:
        $s1 = { 01 02 03 04 }  // Replace with actual exploit signature bytes
        $s2 = "Cognex" nocase
    condition:
        $s1 or $s2
}

Sigma Rule

title: Detection of Unauthorized Access to Cognex In-Sight Port 1069
id: 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012
status: experimental
description: Detects network connections to TCP port 1069 from unauthorized sources
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: network_connection
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        DestinationPort: 1069
        Initiated: true
    filter:
        SourceIp:
            - '192.168.1.0/24'  # Replace with authorized management subnet
    condition: selection and not filter
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate In-Sight Explorer connections from authorized hosts
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert tcp any any -> any 1069 (msg:"CVE-2025-53969 - Cognex In-Sight Unauthenticated Access"; flow:to_server; content:"|01 02 03 04|"; depth:4; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Isolate Cognex devices on a dedicated VLAN with strict firewall rules allowing only authorized management IPs to access port 1069.
2. Disable the service on port 1069 if not required, or restrict access via host-based firewall.
3. Monitor logs for any unauthorized configuration changes.

Long-term Fixes:

• Contact Cognex support for an official patch or firmware update.
• Implement network-level encryption (e.g., VPN) for management traffic.
• Consider replacing devices with models that support authentication for management interfaces.

Workarounds:

• Use network access control (NAC) to prevent unauthorized devices from reaching the Cognex network segment.
• Deploy an intrusion prevention system (IPS) with custom signatures to block exploit attempts.

Valters IT
DevSecOps & Cyber Threat Intelligence Division