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CPDLC over ATN-B1 Vulnerabilities

HIGH
CVSS 7.1
Date 2026-08-07T05:00:00+00:00
Source cisa-csaf
Published by CISA

// Description

ATN-B1 CPDLC relies on legacy clear text unauthenticated radio frequency links. Research demonstrates that these characteristics allow unauthorized message injection, denial-of-service conditions, and forced session resets. These vulnerabilities do not constitute an unsafe aircraft condition but can degrade operational safety margins by increasing workload, delaying safety-critical instructions, and reducing situational awareness.

// Vulnerabilities (5)

CVE ID CVSS Score Severity Description
CVE-2025-71413 5.3 medium
Malformed or out-of-sequence frames at the Aviation Very High Frequency Link Control X.25 layers cause repeated resets which may result in increased workload and reduced situational awareness. This type of attack can be carried out remotely over radio frequency.
CVE-2025-71412 7.1 high
Injection of false emergency or status messages over CPDLC may lead to misallocation of resources, operational confusion, and improper response actions by flight crews, traffic controllers, and ground operations. This type of attack can be carried out remotely over radio frequency.
CVE-2025-71410 5.3 medium
Unnumbered Disconnect (U DISC) and malformed Aviation Very High Frequency Link Control frames can terminate sessions and lead to a loss of CPDLC functions requiring a reversion to voice communication and increased controller workload. This type of attack can be carried out remotely over radio frequency.
CVE-2025-71409 7.1 high
Lack of authentication for Very High Frequency Data Link messages allows rogue ground stations to inject CPDLC messages leading to unexpected or misleading clearances and potential pilot confusion. This type of attack can be carried out remotely over radio frequency.
CVE-2025-71411 5.3 medium
Broadcast control frames can disconnect multiple aircraft simultaneously leading to delayed clearances and air traffic controller overload. This type of attack can be carried out remotely over radio frequency.

// Remediations (3)

Mitigation: Organizations observing suspected malicious activity should follow established internal procedures a
Organizations observing suspected malicious activity should follow established internal procedures and report findings to CISA for tracking and correlation against other incidents.
Mitigation: These vulnerabilities in the CPDLC protocol stack are exploitable in a lab environment. However, the
These vulnerabilities in the CPDLC protocol stack are exploitable in a lab environment. However, they require very specific conditions to be met and are unlikely to be exploited outside of a lab setting.
Mitigation: No known public exploitation specifically targeting these vulnerabilities has been reported to CISA
No known public exploitation specifically targeting these vulnerabilities has been reported to CISA at this time. These vulnerabilities have a high attack complexity.

// References