icsa-20-252-06
Vulnerability from csaf_cisa
Published
2020-09-08 00:00
Modified
2025-05-06 06:00
Summary
Siemens SIMATIC HMI Products (Update A)

Notes

Summary
SIMATIC HMI Products are affected by two vulnerabilities that could allow a remote attacker to discover user passwords and obtain access to the Sm@rt Server via a brute-force attack. Siemens has released updates for the affected products and recommends to update to the latest versions. Siemens also suggests following the listed mitigations for the Unified Comfort Panels.
General Recommendations
As a general security measure, Siemens strongly recommends to protect network access to devices with appropriate mechanisms. In order to operate the devices in a protected IT environment, Siemens recommends to configure the environment according to Siemens' operational guidelines for Industrial Security (Download: https://www.siemens.com/cert/operational-guidelines-industrial-security), and to follow the recommendations in the product manuals. Additional information on Industrial Security by Siemens can be found at: https://www.siemens.com/industrialsecurity
Additional Resources
For further inquiries on security vulnerabilities in Siemens products and solutions, please contact the Siemens ProductCERT: https://www.siemens.com/cert/advisories
Terms of Use
Siemens Security Advisories are subject to the terms and conditions contained in Siemens' underlying license terms or other applicable agreements previously agreed to with Siemens (hereinafter "License Terms"). To the extent applicable to information, software or documentation made available in or through a Siemens Security Advisory, the Terms of Use of Siemens' Global Website (https://www.siemens.com/terms_of_use, hereinafter "Terms of Use"), in particular Sections 8-10 of the Terms of Use, shall apply additionally. In case of conflicts, the License Terms shall prevail over the Terms of Use.
Legal Notice
All information products included in https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ics are provided "as is" for informational purposes only. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not provide any warranties of any kind regarding any information contained within. DHS does not endorse any commercial product or service, referenced in this product or otherwise. Further dissemination of this product is governed by the Traffic Light Protocol (TLP) marking in the header. For more information about TLP, see https://us-cert.cisa.gov/tlp/.
Advisory Conversion Disclaimer
This CISA CSAF advisory was converted from Siemens ProductCERT's CSAF advisory.
Critical infrastructure sectors
Multiple
Countries/areas deployed
Worldwide
Company headquarters location
Germany
Recommended Practices
CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the exploitation risk of this vulnerability.
Recommended Practices
Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, and ensure they are not accessible from the internet.
Recommended Practices
Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls and isolate them from business networks.
Recommended Practices
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 recent version available. Also recognize VPN is only as secure as its connected devices.
Recommended Practices
CISA reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures.
Recommended Practices
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.
Recommended Practices
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.
Recommended Practices
Organizations observing suspected malicious activity should follow established internal procedures and report findings to CISA for tracking and correlation against other incidents.


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{
  "document": {
    "acknowledgments": [
      {
        "organization": "Siemens ProductCERT",
        "summary": "reporting these vulnerabilities to CISA."
      },
      {
        "names": [
          "Joseph Gardiner"
        ],
        "organization": "Bristol Cyber Security Group - University of Bristol",
        "summary": "reporting the vulnerabilities"
      }
    ],
    "category": "csaf_security_advisory",
    "csaf_version": "2.0",
    "distribution": {
      "text": "Disclosure is not limited",
      "tlp": {
        "label": "WHITE",
        "url": "https://us-cert.cisa.gov/tlp/"
      }
    },
    "notes": [
      {
        "category": "summary",
        "text": "SIMATIC HMI Products are affected by two vulnerabilities that could allow a remote attacker to discover user passwords and obtain access to the Sm@rt Server via a brute-force attack.\n\nSiemens has released updates for the affected products and recommends to update to the latest versions. Siemens also suggests following the listed mitigations for the Unified Comfort Panels.",
        "title": "Summary"
      },
      {
        "category": "general",
        "text": "As a general security measure, Siemens strongly recommends to protect network access to devices with appropriate mechanisms. In order to operate the devices in a protected IT environment, Siemens recommends to configure the environment according to Siemens\u0027 operational guidelines for Industrial Security (Download: https://www.siemens.com/cert/operational-guidelines-industrial-security), and to follow the recommendations in the product manuals.\n\nAdditional information on Industrial Security by Siemens can be found at: https://www.siemens.com/industrialsecurity",
        "title": "General Recommendations"
      },
      {
        "category": "general",
        "text": "For further inquiries on security vulnerabilities in Siemens products and solutions, please contact the Siemens ProductCERT: https://www.siemens.com/cert/advisories",
        "title": "Additional Resources"
      },
      {
        "category": "legal_disclaimer",
        "text": "Siemens Security Advisories are subject to the terms and conditions contained in Siemens\u0027 underlying license terms or other applicable agreements previously agreed to with Siemens (hereinafter \"License Terms\"). To the extent applicable to information, software or documentation made available in or through a Siemens Security Advisory, the Terms of Use of Siemens\u0027 Global Website (https://www.siemens.com/terms_of_use, hereinafter \"Terms of Use\"), in particular Sections 8-10 of the Terms of Use, shall apply additionally. In case of conflicts, the License Terms shall prevail over the Terms of Use.",
        "title": "Terms of Use"
      },
      {
        "category": "legal_disclaimer",
        "text": "All information products included in https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ics are provided \"as is\" for informational purposes only. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not provide any warranties of any kind regarding any information contained within. DHS does not endorse any commercial product or service, referenced in this product or otherwise. Further dissemination of this product is governed by the Traffic Light Protocol (TLP) marking in the header. For more information about TLP, see https://us-cert.cisa.gov/tlp/.",
        "title": "Legal Notice"
      },
      {
        "category": "other",
        "text": "This CISA CSAF advisory was converted from Siemens ProductCERT\u0027s CSAF advisory.",
        "title": "Advisory Conversion Disclaimer"
      },
      {
        "category": "other",
        "text": "Multiple",
        "title": "Critical infrastructure sectors"
      },
      {
        "category": "other",
        "text": "Worldwide",
        "title": "Countries/areas deployed"
      },
      {
        "category": "other",
        "text": "Germany",
        "title": "Company headquarters location"
      },
      {
        "category": "general",
        "text": "CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the exploitation risk of this vulnerability.",
        "title": "Recommended Practices"
      },
      {
        "category": "general",
        "text": "Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, and ensure they are not accessible from the internet.",
        "title": "Recommended Practices"
      },
      {
        "category": "general",
        "text": "Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls and isolate them from business networks.",
        "title": "Recommended Practices"
      },
      {
        "category": "general",
        "text": "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 recent version available. Also recognize VPN is only as secure as its connected devices.",
        "title": "Recommended Practices"
      },
      {
        "category": "general",
        "text": "CISA reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures.",
        "title": "Recommended Practices"
      },
      {
        "category": "general",
        "text": "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.",
        "title": "Recommended Practices"
      },
      {
        "category": "general",
        "text": "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.",
        "title": "Recommended Practices"
      },
      {
        "category": "general",
        "text": "Organizations observing suspected malicious activity should follow established internal procedures and report findings to CISA for tracking and correlation against other incidents.",
        "title": "Recommended Practices"
      }
    ],
    "publisher": {
      "category": "other",
      "contact_details": "central@cisa.dhs.gov",
      "name": "CISA",
      "namespace": "https://www.cisa.gov/"
    },
    "references": [
      {
        "category": "self",
        "summary": "SSA-542525: Authentication Vulnerabilities in SIMATIC HMI Products - CSAF Version",
        "url": "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/csaf/ssa-542525.json"
      },
      {
        "category": "self",
        "summary": "SSA-542525: Authentication Vulnerabilities in SIMATIC HMI Products - TXT Version",
        "url": "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/txt/ssa-542525.txt"
      },
      {
        "category": "self",
        "summary": "SSA-542525: Authentication Vulnerabilities in SIMATIC HMI Products - PDF Version",
        "url": "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-542525.pdf"
      },
      {
        "category": "self",
        "summary": "ICS Advisory ICSA-20-252-06 JSON",
        "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cisagov/CSAF/develop/csaf_files/OT/white/2020/icsa-20-252-06.json"
      },
      {
        "category": "self",
        "summary": "ICS Advisory ICSA-20-252-06 - Web Version",
        "url": "https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-20-252-06"
      },
      {
        "category": "external",
        "summary": "Recommended Practices",
        "url": "https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ics/alerts/ICS-ALERT-10-301-01"
      },
      {
        "category": "external",
        "summary": "Recommended Practices",
        "url": "https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/ics-recommended-practices"
      },
      {
        "category": "external",
        "summary": "Recommended Practices",
        "url": "https://www.cisa.gov/topics/industrial-control-systems"
      },
      {
        "category": "external",
        "summary": "Recommended Practices",
        "url": "https://us-cert.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/recommended_practices/NCCIC_ICS-CERT_Defense_in_Depth_2016_S508C.pdf"
      },
      {
        "category": "external",
        "summary": "Recommended Practices",
        "url": "https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Cybersecurity_Best_Practices_for_Industrial_Control_Systems.pdf"
      },
      {
        "category": "external",
        "summary": "Recommended Practices",
        "url": "https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ics/tips/ICS-TIP-12-146-01B"
      }
    ],
    "title": "Siemens SIMATIC HMI Products (Update A)",
    "tracking": {
      "current_release_date": "2025-05-06T06:00:00.000000Z",
      "generator": {
        "engine": {
          "name": "CISA CSAF Generator",
          "version": "1.0.0"
        }
      },
      "id": "ICSA-20-252-06",
      "initial_release_date": "2020-09-08T00:00:00.000000Z",
      "revision_history": [
        {
          "date": "2020-09-08T00:00:00.000000Z",
          "legacy_version": "1.0",
          "number": "1",
          "summary": "Publication Date"
        },
        {
          "date": "2020-10-13T00:00:00.000000Z",
          "legacy_version": "1.1",
          "number": "2",
          "summary": "Added mitigations and fix dates"
        },
        {
          "date": "2020-12-08T00:00:00.000000Z",
          "legacy_version": "1.2",
          "number": "3",
          "summary": "Added patch links for SIMATIC HMI Basic (2nd generation), Comfort (including SIPLUS variants) and Mobile Panels"
        },
        {
          "date": "2021-06-08T00:00:00.000000Z",
          "legacy_version": "1.3",
          "number": "4",
          "summary": "Added patch link for Unified Comfort Panel, and mitigation for components that will not be remediated due to limitations."
        },
        {
          "date": "2025-05-06T06:00:00.000000Z",
          "legacy_version": "Revision",
          "number": "5",
          "summary": "Revision - Fixing typos"
        }
      ],
      "status": "final",
      "version": "5"
    }
  },
  "product_tree": {
    "branches": [
      {
        "branches": [
          {
            "branches": [
              {
                "category": "product_version_range",
                "name": "\u003cV16",
                "product": {
                  "name": "SIMATIC HMI Basic Panels 2nd Generation (incl. SIPLUS variants)",
                  "product_id": "CSAFPID-0001"
                }
              }
            ],
            "category": "product_name",
            "name": "SIMATIC HMI Basic Panels 2nd Generation (incl. SIPLUS variants)"
          },
          {
            "branches": [
              {
                "category": "product_version_range",
                "name": "\u003c=V16",
                "product": {
                  "name": "SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panels (incl. SIPLUS variants)",
                  "product_id": "CSAFPID-0002"
                }
              }
            ],
            "category": "product_name",
            "name": "SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panels (incl. SIPLUS variants)"
          },
          {
            "branches": [
              {
                "category": "product_version_range",
                "name": "\u003c=V16",
                "product": {
                  "name": "SIMATIC HMI Mobile Panels",
                  "product_id": "CSAFPID-0003"
                }
              }
            ],
            "category": "product_name",
            "name": "SIMATIC HMI Mobile Panels"
          },
          {
            "branches": [
              {
                "category": "product_version_range",
                "name": "\u003c=V16",
                "product": {
                  "name": "SIMATIC HMI Unified Comfort Panels",
                  "product_id": "CSAFPID-0004"
                }
              }
            ],
            "category": "product_name",
            "name": "SIMATIC HMI Unified Comfort Panels"
          }
        ],
        "category": "vendor",
        "name": "Siemens"
      }
    ]
  },
  "vulnerabilities": [
    {
      "cve": "CVE-2020-15786",
      "cwe": {
        "id": "CWE-307",
        "name": "Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts"
      },
      "notes": [
        {
          "category": "summary",
          "text": "Affected devices insufficiently block excessive authentication attempts.\n\nThis could allow a remote attacker to discover user passwords and obtain access to the Sm@rt Server via a brute-force attack.",
          "title": "Summary"
        }
      ],
      "product_status": {
        "known_affected": [
          "CSAFPID-0001",
          "CSAFPID-0002",
          "CSAFPID-0003",
          "CSAFPID-0004"
        ]
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "summary": "CVE-2020-15786 - SIMATIC HMI Basic Panels 2nd Generation (incl. SIPLUS variants)",
          "url": "https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/ww/en/view/109775861"
        },
        {
          "summary": "CVE-2020-15786 - SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panels (incl. SIPLUS variants)",
          "url": "https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/ww/en/view/109775861"
        },
        {
          "summary": "CVE-2020-15786 - SIMATIC HMI Mobile Panels",
          "url": "https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/ww/en/view/109775861"
        },
        {
          "summary": "CVE-2020-15786 - SIMATIC HMI Unified Comfort Panels",
          "url": "https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/ww/en/view/109746530"
        },
        {
          "summary": "CVE-2020-15786 Mitre 5.0 json",
          "url": "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/mitre/CVE-2020-15786.json"
        }
      ],
      "remediations": [
        {
          "category": "vendor_fix",
          "details": "Update to V16 Update 3",
          "product_ids": [
            "CSAFPID-0001",
            "CSAFPID-0002",
            "CSAFPID-0003"
          ],
          "url": "https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/ww/en/view/109775861"
        },
        {
          "category": "vendor_fix",
          "details": "Update to V16 Update 5",
          "product_ids": [
            "CSAFPID-0004"
          ],
          "url": "https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/ww/en/view/109746530"
        },
        {
          "category": "mitigation",
          "details": "Apply Defense-in-Depth: https://www.siemens.com/cert/operational-guidelines-industrial-security",
          "product_ids": [
            "CSAFPID-0001",
            "CSAFPID-0002",
            "CSAFPID-0003",
            "CSAFPID-0004"
          ]
        },
        {
          "category": "mitigation",
          "details": "For Unified Comfort Panels using SmartClient: The password truncation (CVE-2020-15787) cannot be resolved due to RFC 6143 and is limited to 8 characters. It is recommended to use complex passwords",
          "product_ids": [
            "CSAFPID-0001",
            "CSAFPID-0002",
            "CSAFPID-0003",
            "CSAFPID-0004"
          ]
        }
      ],
      "scores": [
        {
          "cvss_v3": {
            "baseScore": 6.5,
            "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L/E:P/RL:O/RC:C",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "products": [
            "CSAFPID-0001",
            "CSAFPID-0002",
            "CSAFPID-0003",
            "CSAFPID-0004"
          ]
        }
      ],
      "title": "CVE-2020-15786"
    },
    {
      "cve": "CVE-2020-15787",
      "cwe": {
        "id": "CWE-305",
        "name": "Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness"
      },
      "notes": [
        {
          "category": "summary",
          "text": "Affected devices insufficiently validate authentication attempts as the information given can be truncated to match only a set number of characters versus the whole provided string.\n\nThis could allow a remote attacker to discover user passwords and obtain access to the Sm@rt Server via a brute-force attack.",
          "title": "Summary"
        }
      ],
      "product_status": {
        "known_affected": [
          "CSAFPID-0004"
        ]
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "summary": "CVE-2020-15787 - SIMATIC HMI Unified Comfort Panels",
          "url": "https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/ww/en/view/109746530"
        },
        {
          "summary": "CVE-2020-15787 Mitre 5.0 json",
          "url": "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/mitre/CVE-2020-15787.json"
        }
      ],
      "remediations": [
        {
          "category": "vendor_fix",
          "details": "Update to V16 Update 5",
          "product_ids": [
            "CSAFPID-0004"
          ],
          "url": "https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/ww/en/view/109746530"
        },
        {
          "category": "mitigation",
          "details": "Apply Defense-in-Depth: https://www.siemens.com/cert/operational-guidelines-industrial-security",
          "product_ids": [
            "CSAFPID-0004"
          ]
        },
        {
          "category": "mitigation",
          "details": "For Unified Comfort Panels using SmartClient: The password truncation (CVE-2020-15787) cannot be resolved due to RFC 6143 and is limited to 8 characters. It is recommended to use complex passwords",
          "product_ids": [
            "CSAFPID-0004"
          ]
        }
      ],
      "scores": [
        {
          "cvss_v3": {
            "baseScore": 5.3,
            "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N/E:P/RL:U/RC:C",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "products": [
            "CSAFPID-0004"
          ]
        }
      ],
      "title": "CVE-2020-15787"
    }
  ]
}


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