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Siemens SIMATIC STEP 7 TIA Portal Vulnerabilities

Low RiskICS-CERT ICSA-15-048-01Nov 20, 2015
Summary

SIMATIC STEP 7 TIA Portal versions prior to V13 SP1 contain vulnerabilities related to insufficient use of cryptographic controls and use of a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm (CWE-916, CWE-305). These weaknesses allow an attacker with access to project files to inject malicious code into ladder logic programs without detection. The vulnerability does not require network access to the PLC itself; rather, it exploits the development environment and project file handling. An attacker with access to the engineering workstation or project repository can modify control logic before it is deployed to production equipment.

What this means
What could happen
An attacker with access to a STEP 7 TIA Portal project file could inject malicious code into ladder logic or SCL programs, potentially causing the controller to execute unintended commands that alter industrial processes or equipment behavior.
Who's at risk
This affects any organization using SIMATIC STEP 7 TIA Portal (version 13 SP1 or earlier) to develop and deploy control logic to PLCs in water treatment systems, electrical substations, chemical processes, or other critical infrastructure. Engineering teams and IT staff responsible for PLC development environments are directly impacted.
How it could be exploited
An attacker obtains a STEP 7 TIA Portal project file (typically via network share, email, or compromised engineering workstation) and modifies the control logic offline. When an engineer uploads the altered project to a PLC, the malicious logic executes within the controller. No authentication bypass or runtime exploit is needed if the attacker already has the project file.
Prerequisites
  • Access to STEP 7 TIA Portal project files (local file system or network share)
  • Ability to modify project files before they are compiled and deployed to PLCs
  • Engineering workstation or server hosting the project repository
no patch availableaffects safety and control logic integrityinsider or network-based file access requiredlow complexity attack once file access is obtained
Exploitability
Low exploit probability (EPSS 0.1%)
Affected products (1)
ProductAffected VersionsFix Status
SIMATIC STEP 7 TIA Portal: <V13_SP1<V13 SP1No fix (EOL)
Remediation & Mitigation
0/5
Do now
0/3
HARDENINGImplement file integrity monitoring (FIM) on STEP 7 TIA Portal project directories to detect unauthorized modifications
HARDENINGRestrict access to STEP 7 TIA Portal project files using file system and network access controls; limit editing to authorized engineering staff
HARDENINGStore STEP 7 project files on access-controlled repositories (not open file shares) with audit logging enabled
Schedule — requires maintenance window
0/1

Patching may require device reboot — plan for process interruption

HARDENINGReview and test all STEP 7 projects before deployment to production PLCs to detect suspicious logic changes
Mitigations - no patch available
0/1
SIMATIC STEP 7 TIA Portal: <V13_SP1 has reached End of Life. The vendor will not release a patch. Apply the following compensating controls:
HARDENINGImplement network segmentation to isolate engineering workstations from untrusted networks
View full CISA ICS-CERT advisory
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