GENESIS64: Incorrect Privilege Assignment
CVE-2026-16438 is a critical-severity incorrect privilege assignment vulnerability in GENESIS64 from Mitsubishi Electric, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 9.4 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with administrator privileges, without any action from a user. Affected GENESIS64 versions: versions 10.97.3 and prior. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.29% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.
What to do
- Check which version of GENESIS64 you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Read the advisory on mitsubishielectric.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitsubishi Electric | GENESIS64 | versions 10.97.3 and prior | Not stated |
| Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions | GENESIS64 | versions 10.97.3 and prior | Not stated |
| Mitsubishi Electric | ICONICS Suite | versions 10.97.3 and prior | Not stated |
| Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions | ICONICS Suite | versions 10.97.3 and prior | Not stated |
| Mitsubishi Electric | Hyper Historian | versions 10.97.3 and prior | Not stated |
| Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions | Hyper Historian | versions 10.97.3 and prior | Not stated |
| Mitsubishi Electric | AnalytiX | versions 10.97.3 and prior | Not stated |
| Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions | AnalytiX | versions 10.97.3 and prior | Not stated |
| Mitsubishi Electric | MobileHMI | versions 10.97.3 and prior | Not stated |
| Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions | MobileHMI | versions 10.97.3 and prior | Not stated |
| Mitsubishi Electric | MC Works64 | all versions | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Attack requirements
- NoneThe attack does not depend on a particular deployment or configuration.
- Privileges required
- HighAdministrator-level access is required first.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
- Integrity (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
- Availability (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
- Confidentiality (other systems)
- HighSerious loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
- Integrity (other systems)
- HighSerious loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
- Availability (other systems)
- HighSerious loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. Scored by CNA (yd.MitsubishiElectric.co.jp).
Official description
Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability in Mitsubishi Electric GENESIS64 versions 10.97.3 and prior, ICONICS Suite versions 10.97.3 and prior, Hyper Historian versions 10.97.3 and prior, AnalytiX versions 10.97.3 and prior, MobileHMI 10.97.3 and prior, MC Works64 all versions, Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions GENESIS64 versions 10.97.3 and prior, ICONICS Suite versions 10.97.3 and prior, Hyper Historian versions 10.97.3 and prior, AnalytiX versions 10.97.3 and prior, and MobileHMI 10.97.3 and prior allows an attacker who can log in using the same administrator account for the affected products to launch and operate DCOM objects locally or remotely. During installation, the installers of the affected products unnecessarily grant default DCOM permissions to the administrator account of the affected products. Users with that administrator accounts can locally or remotely launch and operate DCOM objects that should require UAC elevation. As a result, the attacker may disclose, tamper with, destroy, or delete internal information, or cause the affected system to enter a denial-of-service (DoS) condition.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Incorrect Privilege Assignment
A product incorrectly assigns a privilege to a particular actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
- Run your code using the lowest privileges that are required to accomplish the necessary tasks. If possible, create isolated accounts with limited privileges that are only used for a single task. That way, a successful attack will not immediately give the attacker access to the rest of the software or its environment. For example, database applications rarely need to run as the database administrator, especially in day-to-day operations.
More Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerabilities (CWE-266)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other vulnerabilities in GENESIS64
- 7.1 High severity
- 9.2 Critical severity
- 9.3 Critical severity
- 9.3 Critical severity
- 8.2 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
Recent Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerabilities
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.4 Critical severity
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