Summary
CVE-2026-77644 is a critical access control bypass vulnerability in PTC Windchill Risk and Reliability (WRR) Enterprise Edition (formerly known as Relex), rated 9.3 (Critical). The flaw stems from missing authentication on a critical function combined with an unverified password change mechanism, allowing a remote, unauthenticated attacker to alter account credentials without any prior access or user interaction. Given the network attack vector and lack of required privileges, the vulnerability is well suited to automated, large-scale exploitation attempts against internet-exposed WRR instances.
Technical details
- Root cause: The application exposes a critical function — tied to password/credential management — without enforcing authentication (CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function), and the associated password-change operation does not verify the requester’s identity or current credentials before applying the change (CWE-620: Unverified Password Change).
- Trigger conditions: An attacker only needs network reachability to the vulnerable WRR endpoint; no valid session, credentials, or user interaction are required to invoke the affected functionality.
- Attack vector: Network (remote), leveraging what MITRE’s CAPEC-36 classifies as use of an unpublished/undocumented interface or functionality to reach the vulnerable logic.
- Impact: Successful exploitation allows an unauthenticated attacker to bypass access controls and change account passwords, which can lead to full account takeover and compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data managed within Windchill Risk and Reliability.
Affected software
- PTC Windchill Risk and Reliability (WRR) Enterprise Edition (formerly Relex) — versions 11.1 through 13.1
Severity
- CVSS v4.0 Base Score: 9.3 (Critical)
- Vector:
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/RE:M/U:Red - Attack Vector: Network | Attack Complexity: Low | Privileges Required: None | User Interaction: None
- High impact to Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability
Mitigation and recommended actions
- Immediate: Consult and apply the fix detailed in PTC’s official advisory (Support Article CS474818) for Windchill Risk and Reliability Enterprise Edition, and upgrade any affected 11.1–13.1 deployment to the version PTC designates as remediated.
- If a patch cannot be applied immediately:
- Restrict network access to WRR administrative and authentication-related endpoints to trusted internal networks or VPN only — do not expose them directly to the internet.
- Monitor authentication and password-change logs for unexpected or unauthenticated password reset activity.
- Review existing accounts for unauthorized password changes or newly created/modified credentials since the vulnerability’s disclosure.
- Engage PTC support/Trust Center channels for guidance specific to your deployment version and any available interim workarounds.

