French supermarkets hit by cyberattack on refrigeration controllers
Attackers remotely triggered defrost systems to raise refrigerator temperatures at French supermarket chains, reportedly by targeting Danfoss controllers. The disruption affected an estimated 250 to 350 stores, including Intermarché, Coopérative U, Carrefour Market, Monoprix, Leclerc, and Super U, causing food waste and financial losses. Paris prosecutors opened an investigation, while officials condemned the attack on equipment used to preserve food.
Earlier advisories flagged two Danfoss AK-SM 8xxA flaws: an authentication bypass (CVE-2025-41450) and a command injection issue (CVE-2025-41451). Researchers at Claroty’s Team82 said these could enable remote code execution through publicly reachable management interfaces.
On Monday, Predicta Lab’s CEO counted 2,752 exposed Danfoss systems, 1,590 in France; Shodan tracked over 4,500. Paris prosecutors are examining food losses and fires, while Ahold Delhaize separately took systems offline after an unrelated-looking incident.
Shoppers and store staff may face empty shelves, food safety concerns, and higher costs if cold-chain failures recur. Retailers could suffer spoilage losses and remediation expenses, while suppliers and delivery networks may see disruption. If exposed refrigeration controllers remain common, similar incidents could undermine confidence in connected food infrastructure and prompt stronger security requirements.