As of January 10, 2023, CISA will no longer be updating ICS security advisories for Siemens product vulnerabilities beyond the initial advisory. For the most up-to-date information on vulnerabilities in this advisory, please see Siemens’ ProductCERT Security Advisories (CERT Services | Services | Siemens Global).

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CVSS v4 7.3
ATTENTION: Low attack complexity
Vendor: Siemens
Equipment: JT Open and PLM XML SDK
Vulnerabilities: NULL Pointer Dereference, Stack-based Buffer Overflow

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could could cause the application to crash or potentially lead to arbitrary code execution.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

The following products of Siemens are affected:

JT Open: All versions
PLM XML SDK: All versions

3.2 Vulnerability Overview

3.2.1 NULL POINTER DEREFERENCE CWE-476

The affected applications contain a null pointer dereference vulnerability while parsing specially crafted XML files. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to crash the application causing denial of service condition.

CVE-2024-37996 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3.1 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).

A CVSS v4 score has also been calculated for CVE-2024-37996. A base score of 4.8 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (CVSS4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N).

3.2.2 STACK-BASED BUFFER OVERFLOW CWE-121

The affected applications contain a stack based overflow vulnerability while parsing specially crafted XML files. This could allow an attacker to execute code in the context of the current process.

CVE-2024-37997 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

A CVSS v4 score has also been calculated for CVE-2024-37997. A base score of 7.3 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (CVSS4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N).

3.3 BACKGROUND

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Critical Manufacturing
COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: Germany

3.4 RESEARCHER

Siemens reported these vulnerabilities to CISA.

4. MITIGATIONS

Siemens recommends users update to the latest version:

JT Open: Update to V11.5 or later version
PLM XML SDK: Update to V7.1.0.014 or later version
Do not open untrusted XML files in affected applications

As a general security measure, Siemens recommends protecting network access to devices with appropriate mechanisms. To operate the devices in a protected IT environment, Siemens recommends configuring the environment according to Siemens’ operational guidelines for industrial security and following recommendations in the product manuals.

Additional information on industrial security by Siemens can be found on the Siemens industrial security webpage

For more information see the associated Siemens security advisory SSA-824889 in HTML and CSAF.

CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of these vulnerabilities, such as:

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

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

CISA also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS webpage on cisa.gov/ics. Several CISA products detailing cyber defense best practices are available for reading and download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies.

CISA encourages organizations to implement recommended cybersecurity strategies for proactive defense of ICS assets.

Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available on the ICS webpage at cisa.gov/ics in the technical information paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B–Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies.

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

CISA also recommends users take the following measures to protect themselves from social engineering attacks:

Do not click web links or open attachments in unsolicited email messages.
Refer to Recognizing and Avoiding Email Scams for more information on avoiding email scams.
Refer to Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks for more information on social engineering attacks.

No known public exploitation specifically targeting these vulnerabilities has been reported to CISA at this time. These vulnerabilities are not exploitable remotely.

5. UPDATE HISTORY

July 11, 2024: Initial Publication