KNX Association KNX Protocol Connection Authorization Option 1: improper access control flaw under attack

What is affected

KNX Association KNX Protocol Connection Authorization Option 1 is mostly run by companies, schools and public bodies, not on home computers. You are unlikely to have it yourself, but organisations that hold your data may. Breaches that start with flaws like this one are how personal data ends up leaked.

KNX Association KNX Protocol Connection Authorization Option 1 contains an overly restrictive account lockout mechanism vulnerability that could allow an attacker to purge all devices without additional security options enabled and set a BCU key to lock the device.

What an attacker can do

This is a improper access control flaw. It lets an attacker perform actions or reach data that should be restricted to authorised users.

How it is reached

Over the internet or network

Access the attacker needs

No account needed

Does the victim have to do something?

No, works without the victim doing anything

What to do

1. At home: nothing to install. Keep your own devices updated and use a different password for every service, so that a breach at one organisation does not open your other accounts.
2. If you administer KNX Association KNX Protocol Connection Authorization Option 1 at work: apply the vendor's fix or mitigation now and review logs for signs of compromise, because the flaw was being exploited before it was listed.
3. If the product is past its support date and no fix exists, take it off the internet or retire it.

Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on July 15, 2026, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by July 29, 2026, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 1.3% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 69% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 7.5 out of 10 (high), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

KNX devices that use KNX Connection Authorization and support Option 1 are, depending on the implementation, vulnerable to being locked and users being unable to reset them to gain access to the device. The BCU key feature on the devices can be used to create a password for the device, but this password can often not be reset without entering the current password. If the device is configured to interface with a network, an attacker with access to that network could interface with the KNX installation, purge all devices without additional security options enabled, and set a BCU key, locking the device. Even if a device is not connected to a network, an attacker with physical access to the device could also exploit this vulnerability in the same way.