HighCVE-2019-10918

    Siemens SIMATIC WinCC: Exposed Dangerous Method or Function (CVE-2019-10918)

    Published Sources: CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    A vulnerability has been identified in SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.0 and earlier (All versions), SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.1 (All versions < V8.1 with WinCC V7.3 Upd 19), SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.2 (All versions < V8.2 SP1 with WinCC V7.4 SP1 Upd11), SIMATIC PCS 7 V9.0 (All versions < V9.0 SP2 with WinCC V7.4 SP1 Upd11), SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) V13 (All versions), SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) V14 (All versions < V14 SP1 Upd 9), SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) V15 (All versions < V15.1 Upd 3), SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Professional V13 (All versions), SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Professional V14 (All versions < V14.1 Upd 8), SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Professional V15 (All versions < V15.1 Upd 3), SIMATIC WinCC V7.2 and earlier (All versions), SIMATIC WinCC V7.3 (All versions < V7.3 Upd 19), SIMATIC WinCC V7.4 (All versions < V7.4 SP1 Upd 11), SIMATIC WinCC V7.5 (All versions < V7.5 Upd 3). An authenticatd attacker with network access to the DCOM interface could execute arbitrary commands with SYSTEM privileges.

    The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below.

    Affected
    • Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.0 and earlier eq All versions..All versions
    • Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.1 eq All versions < V8.1 with WinCC V7.3 Upd 19..All versions < V8.1 with WinCC V7.3 Upd 19
    • Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.2 eq All versions < V8.2 SP1 with WinCC V7.4 SP1 Upd11..All versions < V8.2 SP1 with WinCC V7.4 SP1 Upd11
    • Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7 V9.0 eq All versions < V9.0 SP2 with WinCC V7.4 SP1 Upd11..All versions < V9.0 SP2 with WinCC V7.4 SP1 Upd11
    • Siemens SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) V13 eq All versions..All versions
    • Siemens SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) V14 eq All versions < V14 SP1 Upd 9..All versions < V14 SP1 Upd 9
    • Siemens SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) V15 eq All versions < V15.1 Upd 3..All versions < V15.1 Upd 3
    • Siemens SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Professional V13 eq All versions..All versions
    • Siemens SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Professional V14 eq All versions < V14.1 Upd 8..All versions < V14.1 Upd 8
    • Siemens SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Professional V15 eq All versions < V15.1 Upd 3..All versions < V15.1 Upd 3
    • Siemens SIMATIC WinCC V7.2 and earlier eq All versions..All versions
    • Siemens SIMATIC WinCC V7.3 eq All versions < V7.3 Upd 19..All versions < V7.3 Upd 19
    • Siemens SIMATIC WinCC V7.4 eq All versions < V7.4 SP1 Upd 11..All versions < V7.4 SP1 Upd 11
    • Siemens SIMATIC WinCC V7.5 eq All versions < V7.5 Upd 3..All versions < V7.5 Upd 3

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    8.8

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    8.8

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: CVE.org

    1.9 %

    EPSS score

    Moderate — model estimates 1-10% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 79.9

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    High
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    95.05 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    no public PoC known
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    8.8 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    8.8
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    1.9 %
    Moderate — model estimates 1-10% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    79.9
    High — this CVE ranks above the median of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 36%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-749

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    A vulnerability has been identified in SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.0 and earlier (All versions), SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.1 (All versions < V8.1 with WinCC V7.3 Upd 19), SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.2 (All versions < V8.2 SP1 with WinCC V7.4 SP1 Upd11), SIMATIC PCS 7 V9.0 (All versions < V9.0 SP2 with WinCC V7.4 SP1 Upd11), SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) V13 (All versions), SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) V14 (All versions < V14 SP1 Upd 9), SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) V15 (All versions < V15.1 Upd 3), SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Professional V13 (All versions), SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Professional V14 (All versions < V14.1 Upd 8), SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Professional V15 (All versions < V15.1 Upd 3), SIMATIC WinCC V7.2 and earlier (All versions), SIMATIC WinCC V7.3 (All versions < V7.3 Upd 19), SIMATIC WinCC V7.4 (All versions < V7.4 SP1 Upd 11), SIMATIC WinCC V7.5 (All versions < V7.5 Upd 3). An authenticatd attacker with network access to the DCOM interface could execute arbitrary commands with SYSTEM privileges. The vulnerability could be exploited by an attacker with network access to the affected system. Successful exploitation requires authentication with a low-privileged user account and no user interaction. An attacker could use the vulnerability to compromise confidentiality and integrity and availability of the affected system. At the time of advisory publication no public exploitation of this security vulnerability was known.

    Source: NVD (NIST), cvelistv5

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    Siemens AGSIMATIC PCS 7 V8.0 and earlier
    • All versions
    • —
    Siemens AGSIMATIC PCS 7 V8.1
    • All versions < V8.1 with WinCC V7.3 Upd 19
    • —
    Siemens AGSIMATIC PCS 7 V8.2
    • All versions < V8.2 SP1 with WinCC V7.4 SP1 Upd11
    • —
    Siemens AGSIMATIC PCS 7 V9.0
    • All versions < V9.0 SP2 with WinCC V7.4 SP1 Upd11
    • —
    Siemens AGSIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) V13
    • All versions
    • —
    Siemens AGSIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) V14
    • All versions < V14 SP1 Upd 9
    • —
    Siemens AGSIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) V15
    • All versions < V15.1 Upd 3
    • —
    Siemens AGSIMATIC WinCC Runtime Professional V13
    • All versions
    • —
    Siemens AGSIMATIC WinCC Runtime Professional V14
    • All versions < V14.1 Upd 8
    • —
    Siemens AGSIMATIC WinCC Runtime Professional V15
    • All versions < V15.1 Upd 3
    • —
    Siemens AGSIMATIC WinCC V7.2 and earlier
    • All versions
    • —
    Siemens AGSIMATIC WinCC V7.3
    • All versions < V7.3 Upd 19
    • —
    Siemens AGSIMATIC WinCC V7.4
    • All versions < V7.4 SP1 Upd 11
    • —
    Siemens AGSIMATIC WinCC V7.5
    • All versions < V7.5 Upd 3
    • —
    siemenssimatic_pcs_7
    • ≤ 8.0
    • 9.0
    • 8.2
    • 8.1
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    siemenssimatic_wincc
    • 7.5
    • 7.4
    • 7.3
    • ≤ 7.2
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    siemenssimatic_wincc_\(tia_portal\)
    • 15.0
    • 14.0
    • 13.0
    • —
    • —
    • —
    siemenssimatic_wincc_runtime_professional
    • —
    • —

    Vendors and products

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-749Exposed Dangerous Method or Function

      Base

      The product provides an Applications Programming Interface (API) or similar interface for interaction with external actors, but the interface includes a dangerous method or function that is not properly restricted.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-749

    References & sources

    • Siemens ProductCERTproductcert/pdf/ssa-697412.pdfx_refsource_CONFIRM, Vendor advisory
    • us-cert.govics/advisories/ICSA-19-134-08x_refsource_MISC, Third-party advisory, US government resource
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