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 6.1
ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low attack complexity
Vendor: Siemens
Equipment: SINEMA Remote Connect Client
Vulnerability: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Externally-Accessible File or Directory

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to access sensitive information.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

The following versions of Siemens SINEMA Remote Connect Client, a remote management platform, are affected:

SINEMA Remote Connect Client: All versions prior to V3.1 SP1

3.2 Vulnerability Overview

3.2.1 INSERTION OF SENSITIVE INFORMATION INTO EXTERNALLY-ACCESSIBLE FILE OR DIRECTORY CWE-538

The product places sensitive information into files or directories that are accessible to actors who are allowed to have access to the files, but not to the sensitive information. This information is also available via the web interface of the product.

CVE-2024-22045 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 7.6 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N).

A CVSS v4 score has also been calculated for CVE-2024-22045. A base score of 6.1 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (CVSS4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:L/SA:N).

3.3 BACKGROUND

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Critical Manufacturing, Commercial Facilities, Energy, Food and Agriculture, Healthcare and Public Health, Transportation Systems, Water and Wastewater Systems
COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: Germany

3.4 RESEARCHER

Siemens reported this vulnerability to CISA.

4. MITIGATIONS

Siemens has released updates for the affected products and recommends to update to the latest versions:

Update to V3.1 SP1 or later version.
In order to fully mitigate the issue, administrators are advised to backup and clear the log files and to change the VPN credentials.

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-653855 in HTML and CSAF.

CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of this vulnerability. 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. 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 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 this vulnerability has been reported to CISA at this time.

5. UPDATE HISTORY

March 14, 2024: Initial Publication