What’s Vulnerable › Vulnerabilities

CVE-2011-3386

• Severity: medium (CVSS 4.0 v2.0)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 1.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2011-09-02 · updated 2026-06-16

Description

Unspecified vulnerability in Medtronic Paradigm wireless insulin pump 512, 522, 712, and 722 allows remote attackers to modify the delivery of an insulin bolus dose and cause a denial of service (adverse human health effects) via unspecified vectors involving wireless communications and knowledge of the device's serial number, as demonstrated by Jerome Radcliffe at the Black Hat USA conference in August 2011. NOTE: the vendor has disputed the severity of this issue, saying "we believe the risk of deliberate, malicious, or unauthorized manipulation of medical devices is extremely low... we strongly believe it would be extremely difficult for a third-party to wirelessly tamper with your insulin pump... you would be able to detect tones on the insulin pump that weren't intentionally programmed and could intervene accordingly."

Affected products

• Medtronic Paradigm Wireless Insulin Pump: 512, 522, 712, 722

References

• http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2011/08/hacked_jay_radcliffe_insulin_p.html
• http://www.darkreading.com/security/vulnerabilities/231300312/getting-root-on-the-human-body.html
• http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/08/04/insulin-pumps-vulnerable-to-hacking/?test=faces
• http://www.hanselman.com/blog/HackersCanKillDiabeticsWithInsulinPumpsFromAHalfMileAwayUmNoFactsVsJournalisticFearMongering.aspx
• http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/vulnerabilities/231600265
• http://www.loop-blog.com/Blog_Full_Post?id=a09C000000Dbz3JIAR
• http://www.scmagazineus.com/black-hat-insulin-pumps-can-be-hacked/article/209106/
• https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/69643
• http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2011/08/hacked_jay_radcliffe_insulin_p.html
• http://www.darkreading.com/security/vulnerabilities/231300312/getting-root-on-the-human-body.html
• http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/08/04/insulin-pumps-vulnerable-to-hacking/?test=faces
• http://www.hanselman.com/blog/HackersCanKillDiabeticsWithInsulinPumpsFromAHalfMileAwayUmNoFactsVsJournalisticFearMongering.aspx

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