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Critical

RCE in PTC Windchill PDMLink and FlexPLM via Deserialization of Untrusted Data

IdentifiersCVE-2026-4681CWE-94· Improper Control of Generation of…

CVE-2026-4681 is a critical remote code execution vulnerability affecting PTC Windchill PDMLink and PTC FlexPLM. According to the provided content, the flaw is exploitable through deserialization of untrusted data and has been described by PTC/CISA as a code injection issue mapped to CWE-94. The issue affects Windchill PDMLink versions 11.0 M030, 11.1 M020, 11.2.1.0, 12.0.2.0, 12.1.2.0, 13.0.2.0, 13.1.0.0, 13.1.1.0, 13.1.2.0, and 13.1.3.0, and FlexPLM versions 11.0 M030, 11.1 M020, 11.2.1.0, 12.0.0.0, 12.0.2.0, 12.0.3.0, 12.1.2.0, 12.1.3.0, 13.0.2.0, and 13.0.3.0. The supporting content also indicates all CPS releases before 11.0 M030 are susceptible. Observed exploitation-related indicators referenced by PTC and downstream detection content include suspicious requests to gateway or JSP paths using parameters such as run?c=, run?p=, .jsp?c=, and .jsp?p=, suggesting attackers may stage a gateway/JSP component and then use it to execute commands or read files.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation can result in unauthenticated remote code execution on affected Windchill or FlexPLM systems. The provided content indicates attackers may execute arbitrary operating system commands, deploy staged gateway or JSP components, read local files, and potentially weaponize the server for follow-on activity. PTC-published indicators and related reporting also suggest post-exploitation outcomes may include persistent JSP webshell-style access, data theft, and ransomware-enabling intrusion activity. Given the CVSS 3.1 score of 10.0 and vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H, the impact is potentially complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected application environment.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Until full remediation is completed, implement PTC’s temporary HTTP-layer mitigations immediately. The provided content states PTC recommended Apache HTTP Server and Microsoft IIS workarounds to block vulnerable gateway-related paths, and to apply the same protections to File Server and Replica Server deployments. Minimize or eliminate internet exposure of affected systems, place them behind firewalls, isolate them from business networks where possible, and use secure remote access such as fully updated VPNs if remote administration is required. If mitigations cannot be applied quickly, disconnect publicly accessible Windchill/FlexPLM systems from the internet or temporarily shut down the affected services. Monitor for exploitation indicators including requests containing run?c=, run?p=, .jsp?c=, .jsp?p=, GW_READY_OK, suspicious Chrome user-agent activity, and filesystem artifacts identified by PTC.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply vendor patches/hotfixes from PTC as soon as they are available for the affected Windchill PDMLink and FlexPLM versions. The provided content states PTC began releasing fixes and also published urgent mitigation guidance. Organizations should follow PTC product-specific remediation instructions for the affected versions, including any updated patched-version guidance from the vendor advisory. After patching, review systems for compromise using PTC’s indicators of compromise, including suspicious gateway/JSP artifacts, GW.class, payload.bin, dpr_<8 hex>.jsp files, and related suspicious class files and log indicators.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

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VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

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VendorProductType
PtcFlexplmapplication
PtcWindchill Pdmlinkapplication

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What this page doesn’t show

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Threat actor evidence51

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

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Detection signatures

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Vendor-by-vendor mapping

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Social activity24

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