1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

  • CVSS v3 9.1
  • ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low skill level to exploit
  • Vendor: Siemens
  • Equipment: SIMATIC PCS 7, WinCC Runtime Professional, WinCC (TIA Portal)
  • Vulnerabilities: SQL Injection, Uncaught Exception, Exposed Dangerous Method

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the affected system.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

The following Siemens SIMATIC products are affected:

  • SIMATIC PCS 7 v8.0 and earlier
  • SIMATIC PCS 7 v8.1
  • SIMATIC PCS 7 v8.2
  • SIMATIC PCS 7 v9.0
  • SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) v13
  • SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) v14
  • SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) v15
  • SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Professional, all versions
  • SIMATIC WinCC v7.2 and earlier
  • SIMATIC WinCC v7.3
  • SIMATIC WinCC v7.4
  • SIMATIC WinCC v7.5, all versions prior to v7.5, Update 3

3.2 VULNERABILITY OVERVIEW

3.2.1    SQL INJECTION CWE-89

An attacker with network access to the project file could run arbitrary system commands with the privileges of the local database server. This may impact the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.

CVE-2019-10916 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 9.1 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).

3.2.2    UNCAUGHT EXCEPTION CWE-248

An attacker with local access to the project file could cause a denial-of-service condition on the affected product as the project file is loaded. Successful exploitation could compromise availability of the affected system.

CVE-2019-10917 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 3.3 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L).

3.2.3    EXPOSED DANGEROUS METHOD OR FUNCTION CWE-749

An authenticated attacker with network access to the DCOM interface could execute arbitrary commands with SYSTEM privileges. Successful exploitation could compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.

CVE-2019-10918 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 8.8 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

3.3 BACKGROUND

  • CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Chemical, Critical Manufacturing, Energy, Food and Agriculture, Water and Wastewater Systems
  • COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
  • COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: Germany

3.4 RESEARCHER

Vladimir Dashchenko and Sergey Temnikov from Kaspersky Lab, CNCERT/CC, and ChengBin Wang from Guoli Security Technology reported these vulnerabilities to Siemens.

4. MITIGATIONS

Siemens has an update available for this product:

  • SIMATIC WinCC v7.5: Updated to v7.5 Update 3

https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/ww/en/view/109767227/

Siemens recommends users apply the following specific workarounds and mitigations to reduce risk until updates or patches are available:

  • Apply defense-in-depth strategies.
  • Enable “Encrypted communication” in SIMATIC WinCC and SIMATIC PCS 7.
  • Only open project files from trusted locations.

As a general security measure, Siemens strongly recommends protecting network access to devices with appropriate mechanisms. In order to operate the devices in a protected IT environment, Siemens recommends users configure their environment according to Siemens’ operational guidelines for industrial security and follow the recommendations in the product manuals.

Additional information on industrial security by Siemens can be found at:

https://www.siemens.com/industrialsecurity

For more information on these vulnerabilities and more detailed mitigation instructions, please see Siemens security advisory SSA-697412 at the following location:

http://www.siemens.com/cert/advisories

NCCIC recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of this vulnerability. Specifically, users should:

  • Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, and ensure that they are not accessible from the Internet.
  • Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls, and isolate them from the business network.
  • When remote access is required, use secure methods, such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), recognizing that VPNs may have vulnerabilities and should be updated to the most current version available. Also recognize that VPN is only as secure as the connected devices.

NCCIC reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures.

NCCIC also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS-CERT web page. Several recommended practices are available for reading and download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies.

Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available on the ICS-CERT website in the Technical Information Paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B–Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies.

Organizations observing any suspected malicious activity should follow their established internal procedures and report their findings to NCCIC for tracking and correlation against other incidents.

No known public exploits specifically target these vulnerabilities.

 

Source:

https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-19-134-08