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Hydro-Québec Le Circuit Electrique charging station backend

All CISA Advisories
CVEPrivilege EscalationCritical

Overview

Hydro-Québec's Le Circuit Electrique charging station backend has several critical vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers. These include improper access controls that allow unauthorized connections, insufficient restrictions on authentication attempts, and the ability to overload the system with multiple connections. If exploited, these vulnerabilities could lead to privilege escalation or denial-of-service attacks, affecting the operation of charging stations across Canada. Hydro-Québec has taken steps to mitigate these risks by disabling certain protocols and implementing stronger authentication measures. Users of these charging stations should remain vigilant and ensure their systems are updated to protect against potential exploitation.

Key Takeaways

  • Affected Systems: Hydro-Québec Le Circuit Electrique charging station backend; affected versions: prior to June 2026.
  • Action Required: Hydro-Québec has updated most charging stations to disable OCPP, mitigating the risk.
  • Timeline: Disclosed on July 7, 2026

Original Article Summary

View CSAF Summary Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could lead to privilege escalation, or result in a denial-of-service attack. The following versions of Hydro-Québec Le Circuit Electrique charging station backend are affected: Le Circuit Electrique charging station backend CVSS Vendor Equipment Vulnerabilities v3 9.8 Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec Le Circuit Electrique charging station backend Improper Access Control, Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts, Insufficient Session Expiration Background Critical Infrastructure Sectors: Transportation Systems Countries/Areas Deployed: Canada Company Headquarters Location: Canada Vulnerabilities Expand All + CVE-2026-20744 The charging station websocket endpoint accepts connections without proper authentication, which could lead to privilege escalation. View CVE Details Affected Products Hydro-Québec Le Circuit Electrique charging station backend Vendor: Hydro-Québec Product Version: Hydro-Québec Le Circuit Electrique charging station backend: <June_2026 Product Status: known_affected Remediations Mitigation Hydro-Québec has updated the majority of charging stations to disable OCPP, mitigating the risk of exploitation. Hydro-Québec has also implemented authentication systems to mitigate the issue for certain charging stations which are still reliant on OCPP. Contact Hydro-Québec with any additional questions. Relevant CWE: CWE-284 Improper Access Control Metrics CVSS Version Base Score Base Severity Vector String 3.1 9.8 CRITICAL CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 4.0 9.3 CRITICAL CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N CVE-2026-42952 Previously, there was no throttling on repeated authentication attempts to the charging station backend, which could allow an attacker to execute a Denial-of-Service attack. View CVE Details Affected Products Hydro-Québec Le Circuit Electrique charging station backend Vendor: Hydro-Québec Product Version: Hydro-Québec Le Circuit Electrique charging station backend: <June_2026 Product Status: known_affected Remediations Mitigation Hydro-Québec has updated the majority of charging stations to disable OCPP, mitigating the risk of exploitation. Hydro-Québec has also implemented authentication systems to mitigate the issue for certain charging stations which are still reliant on OCPP. Contact Hydro-Québec with any additional questions. Relevant CWE: CWE-307 Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts Metrics CVSS Version Base Score Base Severity Vector String 3.1 7.5 HIGH CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H 4.0 8.7 HIGH CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N CVE-2026-44383 Multiple connections to the backend using the same charging station ID are allowed, which could allow an attacker to deploy multiple instances of malicious OCPP clients to overwhelm the backend. View CVE Details Affected Products Hydro-Québec Le Circuit Electrique charging station backend Vendor: Hydro-Québec Product Version: Hydro-Québec Le Circuit Electrique charging station backend: <June_2026 Product Status: known_affected Remediations Mitigation Hydro-Québec has updated the majority of charging stations to disable OCPP, mitigating the risk of exploitation. Hydro-Québec has also implemented authentication systems to mitigate the issue for certain charging stations which are still reliant on OCPP. Contact Hydro-Québec with any additional questions. Relevant CWE: CWE-613 Insufficient Session Expiration Metrics CVSS Version Base Score Base Severity Vector String 3.1 7.5 HIGH CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H 4.0 8.7 HIGH CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N Acknowledgments An anonymous researcher reported these vulnerabilities to CISA Legal Notice and Terms of Use This product is provided subject to this Notification (https://www.cisa.gov/notification) and this Privacy & Use policy (https://www.cisa.gov/privacy-policy). Recommended Practices CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of these vulnerabilities. Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, ensuring they are not accessible from the internet. Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls and isolating them from business networks. When remote access is required, use more secure methods, such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), recognizing VPNs may have vulnerabilities and should be updated to the most current version available. Also recognize VPN is only as secure as the connected devices. CISA reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures. CISA also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS webpage on cisa.gov/ics. Several CISA products detailing cyber defense best practices are available for reading and download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies. CISA encourages organizations to implement recommended cybersecurity strategies for proactive defense of ICS assets. Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available on the ICS webpage at cisa.gov/ics in the technical information paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B--Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies. Organizations observing suspected malicious activity should follow established internal procedures and report findings to CISA for tracking and correlation against other incidents. No known public exploitation specifically targeting these vulnerabilities has been reported to CISA at this time. Revision History Initial Release Date: 2026-07-07 Date Revision Summary 2026-07-07 1 Initial Publication Legal Notice and Terms of Use

Impact

Hydro-Québec Le Circuit Electrique charging station backend; affected versions: prior to June 2026.

Exploitation Status

No active exploitation has been reported at this time. However, organizations should still apply patches promptly as proof-of-concept code may exist.

Timeline

Disclosed on July 7, 2026

Remediation

Hydro-Québec has updated most charging stations to disable OCPP, mitigating the risk. For certain stations still using OCPP, authentication systems have been implemented to enhance security.

Additional Information

This threat intelligence is aggregated from trusted cybersecurity sources. For the most up-to-date information, technical details, and official vendor guidance, please refer to the original article linked below.

Related Topics: This incident relates to CVE, Privilege Escalation, Critical.

Read Original Article

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