Siemens Intel Active Management Technology of SIMATIC IPCs
Monitor6.7ICS-CERT ICSA-19-043-05Feb 12, 2019
Attack VectorLocal
Auth RequiredHigh
ComplexityLow
User InteractionNone needed
Summary
Siemens SIMATIC IPCs and FieldPG M5 devices contain Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) vulnerabilities that can allow a local attacker with code execution to escalate privileges and gain firmware-level control of the system. The vulnerabilities are tracked under Intel security advisories related to AMT access control issues. An attacker exploiting these flaws could potentially bypass operating system security, modify system configuration, or persist across reboots. The vulnerabilities affect all versions below the patched BIOS versions listed for each product model.
What this means
What could happen
An attacker with local access to a SIMATIC IPC or FieldPG M5 could exploit Intel AMT vulnerabilities to gain elevated privileges and run arbitrary code, potentially allowing them to modify process parameters, halt operations, or persist access to critical plant equipment.
Who's at risk
Water utilities and municipal electric utilities operating Siemens SIMATIC industrial PCs and field panel computers (FieldPG M5) should care about this vulnerability. Affected equipment includes edge control devices (IPC427E, IPC477E, IPC547E/G, IPC627D-847D models) and operator interface terminals (ITP1000) that often run process supervisory logic, data logging, and operator interfaces. Any facility using these IPCs for SCADA, process automation, or real-time control is potentially affected.
How it could be exploited
An attacker must first gain local code execution on the affected device (e.g., through malicious software, USB, or compromise of engineering workstations). Once running code locally, the attacker can exploit Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) vulnerabilities to escalate privileges and gain firmware-level control independent of the operating system.
Prerequisites
- Local code execution capability on the device (attacker must be able to run malicious software or code on the system)
- No network access required (vulnerability is local to the device)
- Higher privileges already present or obtainable on the system
Affects firmware (hard to detect and remediate)No authentication required for local exploitationLow attack complexity (requires only local code execution)Impacts Siemens industrial control equipment widely deployed in utilitiesMany versions lack patches (several product lines marked no fix available)
Exploitability
Moderate exploit probability (EPSS 1.6%)
Affected products (11)
11 with fix
ProductAffected VersionsFix Status
SIMATIC FieldPG M5: All<V22.01.06v22.01.06
SIMATIC IPC477E: All<V21.01.09V21.01.09
SIMATIC IPC547E: All<R1.30.0R1.30.0
SIMATIC IPC547G: All<R1.23.0R1.23.0
SIMATIC IPC627D: All<V19.02.11V19.02.11
SIMATIC IPC647D: All<V19.01.14V19.01.14
SIMATIC IPC677D: All<V19.02.11V19.02.11
SIMATIC IPC847D: All<V19.01.14V19.01.14
Remediation & Mitigation
0/10
Do now
0/3HARDENINGRestrict physical and network access to IPCs and FieldPG devices; keep them behind firewalls and not directly Internet-accessible
HARDENINGAssess whether untrusted code can be executed on these devices; implement controls to prevent unauthorized software execution (e.g., application whitelisting, USB port disabling, code signing enforcement)
HARDENINGSecure engineering workstations and remote access paths to prevent compromise that could lead to local code execution on IPCs
Schedule — requires maintenance window
0/7Patching may require device reboot — plan for process interruption
HOTFIXUpgrade SIMATIC FieldPG M5 to v22.01.06 or later
HOTFIXUpgrade SIMATIC IPC427E and IPC477E to V21.01.09 or later
HOTFIXUpgrade SIMATIC IPC547E to R1.30.0 or later
HOTFIXUpgrade SIMATIC IPC547G to R1.23.0 or later
HOTFIXUpgrade SIMATIC IPC627D, IPC677D, and IPC827D to V19.02.11 or later
HOTFIXUpgrade SIMATIC IPC647D and IPC847D to V19.01.14 or later
HOTFIXUpgrade SIMATIC ITP1000 to V23.01.04 or later
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API:
/api/v1/advisories/6ff05485-68ee-4ca3-b477-2d827300c360