---
title: "Critical Flaws in SWITCH EV Charging Stations Expose Global Energy Networks"
short_title: "Critical SWITCH EV charging station vulnerabilities"
description: "Four critical vulnerabilities in SWITCH EV charging stations enable attackers to hijack sessions, cause denial-of-service, and manipulate backend data. Patch now to secure energy infrastructure."
author: "Vitus"
date: 2024-10-02
categories: [Cybersecurity, Vulnerabilities]
tags: [ev-charging, cve-2026, cybersecurity, energy-sector, vulnerability]
score: 0.92
cve_ids: [CVE-2026-27767, CVE-2026-25113, CVE-2026-25778, CVE-2026-27773]
---
TL;DR
Four critical vulnerabilities in SWITCH EV charging stations—affecting all versions—could allow attackers to impersonate charging stations, hijack sessions, and manipulate backend data. These flaws pose severe risks to global energy and transportation infrastructure, with no vendor response or patches available yet. Immediate mitigation steps are recommended to prevent exploitation.
---
Main Content
The global transition to electric vehicles (EVs) has accelerated the deployment of charging infrastructure, but it has also introduced new cybersecurity risks. A recent discovery of four critical vulnerabilities in SWITCH EV charging stations—used worldwide in energy and transportation sectors—highlights the urgent need for robust security measures. These flaws, if exploited, could enable attackers to impersonate charging stations, hijack sessions, suppress legitimate traffic, and manipulate data, leading to large-scale disruptions.
Key Points
- Four critical vulnerabilities (CVE-2026-27767, CVE-2026-25113, CVE-2026-25778, CVE-2026-27773) affect all versions of SWITCH EV charging stations.
- Exploitation could result in unauthorized control of charging infrastructure, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, and data manipulation.
- No vendor response or patches have been issued, leaving systems exposed.
- Critical infrastructure sectors, including energy and transportation, are at risk due to the global deployment of these systems.
---
Technical Details
#### Vulnerability Breakdown
The vulnerabilities stem from insecure WebSocket implementations and poor authentication mechanisms in SWITCH EV charging stations. Below is a detailed analysis of each flaw:
1. CVE-2026-27767 (CVSS 9.4 - Critical)
- Issue: Missing authentication for critical WebSocket endpoints.
- Impact: Attackers can impersonate charging stations by connecting to the OCPP WebSocket endpoint using a known or discovered station identifier. This allows unauthorized issuance or reception of OCPP commands, leading to privilege escalation, unauthorized control, and data corruption.
- Relevant CWE: [CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/306.html).
2. CVE-2026-25113 (CVSS 7.5 - High)
- Issue: Lack of rate limiting on authentication requests.
- Impact: Attackers can conduct brute-force attacks or denial-of-service (DoS) attacks by suppressing or misrouting legitimate charger telemetry.
- Relevant CWE: [CWE-307: Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/307.html).
3. CVE-2026-25778 (CVSS 7.3 - High)
- Issue: Predictable session identifiers and insufficient session expiration.
- Impact: Attackers can hijack or shadow sessions, displacing legitimate charging stations and receiving backend commands intended for them. This could lead to unauthorized access or DoS conditions.
- Relevant CWE: [CWE-613: Insufficient Session Expiration](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/613.html).
4. CVE-2026-27773 (CVSS 6.5 - Medium)
- Issue: Publicly accessible charging station authentication identifiers via web-based mapping platforms.
- Impact: Attackers can exploit exposed credentials to gain unauthorized access to charging infrastructure.
- Relevant CWE: [CWE-522: Insufficiently Protected Credentials](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/522.html).
---
Impact Assessment
The vulnerabilities in SWITCH EV charging stations pose severe risks to critical infrastructure sectors, including:
- Energy Sector: Unauthorized control of charging stations could disrupt power distribution and grid stability.
- Transportation Systems: Attackers could manipulate charging sessions, leading to vehicle downtime, financial losses, or safety hazards.
- Data Integrity: Manipulation of backend data could result in billing fraud, operational disruptions, or misinformation.
Given the global deployment of these systems and the lack of vendor response, organizations must act swiftly to mitigate risks.
---
Mitigation Steps
While no official patches are available, CISA recommends the following defensive measures to minimize exploitation risks:
1. Network Segmentation:
- Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and ensure they are not accessible from the internet.
- Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls and isolate them from business networks.
2. Secure Remote Access:
- Use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) for remote access, ensuring they are updated to the latest version.
- Recognize that VPNs are only as secure as the connected devices.
3. Monitoring and Detection:
- Implement intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for suspicious activity.
- Regularly audit logs for unauthorized access attempts or anomalous behavior.
4. Vendor Coordination:
- Contact SWITCH EV via their [contact page](https://swtchenergy.com/contact/) for updates on patches or mitigation strategies.
5. Risk Assessment:
- Perform a thorough impact analysis and risk assessment before deploying defensive measures.
- Refer to CISA’s [ICS webpage](https://www.cisa.gov/ics) for additional guidance on control systems security.
---
Conclusion
The discovery of these four critical vulnerabilities in SWITCH EV charging stations underscores the growing cybersecurity risks in the EV infrastructure sector. With no vendor response or patches available, organizations must proactively implement mitigation strategies to protect critical energy and transportation systems. Failure to act could result in large-scale disruptions, financial losses, and compromised safety.
As the EV ecosystem continues to expand, collaboration between vendors, cybersecurity experts, and infrastructure operators is essential to ensure a secure and resilient future.
---
References
[^1]: CISA. "[ICS Advisory (ICSA-26-057-06): SWITCH EV Charging Stations](https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-26-057-06)". Retrieved 2024-10-02.
[^2]: MITRE. "[CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/306.html)". Retrieved 2024-10-02.
[^3]: MITRE. "[CWE-307: Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/307.html)". Retrieved 2024-10-02.
[^4]: MITRE. "[CWE-613: Insufficient Session Expiration](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/613.html)". Retrieved 2024-10-02.
[^5]: MITRE. "[CWE-522: Insufficiently Protected Credentials](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/522.html)". Retrieved 2024-10-02.