OTPulse

Siemens SIMATIC HMI Panels

Plan PatchCVSS 7.5ICS-CERT ICSA-22-286-14Oct 11, 2022
SiemensManufacturing
Attack path
Attack VectorNetwork
Auth RequiredNone
ComplexityLow
User InteractionNone needed
Summary

SIMATIC HMI Panels contain an input validation vulnerability (CWE-20) in the TCP packet handling for ports 5001 and 5002. An unauthenticated attacker with network access can send specially crafted packets to trigger a permanent denial of service condition requiring device reboot. Affected products include SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panels, KTP Mobile Panels, and KTP Basic series (KTP400, KTP700, KTP900, KTP1200), as well as SIPLUS hardened variants. Siemens has released firmware updates for all affected products.

What this means
What could happen
An attacker on the network could send malicious TCP packets to permanently crash HMI panels, requiring a manual reboot and causing loss of operator visibility into plant operations until the device recovers.
Who's at risk
Manufacturing facilities operating Siemens SIMATIC HMI panels (Comfort, KTP Mobile, and KTP Basic series in all sizes) for process monitoring and operator control. Impact affects any facility that depends on HMI panels for real-time visibility into production processes, safety monitoring, or critical equipment operation.
How it could be exploited
An attacker with network access to the HMI panel sends specially crafted packets to ports 5001 or 5002. The panel's TCP input validation fails, causing the application to crash. The device remains unresponsive until manually rebooted.
Prerequisites
  • Network access to ports 5001/TCP or 5002/TCP on the HMI panel
  • No authentication required
  • Attacker can be internal or lateral-movement compromise from another network segment
Remotely exploitable without authenticationLow attack complexity (malformed packets)No patch available yet for all variantsCauses denial of service affecting operator situational awareness
Exploitability
Unlikely to be exploited — EPSS score 0.1%
Affected products (10)
10 with fix
ProductAffected VersionsFix Status
SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panels (incl. SIPLUS variants)<V17 Update 417 Update 4
SIMATIC HMI KTP Mobile Panels<V17 Update 417 Update 4
SIMATIC HMI KTP1200 Basic<V17 Update 517 Update 5
SIMATIC HMI KTP400 Basic<V17 Update 517 Update 5
SIMATIC HMI KTP700 Basic<V17 Update 517 Update 5
SIMATIC HMI KTP900 Basic<V17 Update 517 Update 5
SIPLUS HMI KTP1200 BASIC<V17 Update 517 Update 5
SIPLUS HMI KTP400 BASIC<V17 Update 517 Update 5
Remediation & Mitigation
0/5
Do now
0/1
WORKAROUNDRestrict network access to HMI panel ports 5001/TCP and 5002/TCP to trusted engineering workstations and control room subnets only via firewall rules
Schedule — requires maintenance window
0/3

Patching may require device reboot — plan for process interruption

HOTFIXUpdate SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panels and KTP Mobile Panels to V17 Update 4 or later
HOTFIXUpdate SIMATIC HMI KTP400/700/900/1200 Basic panels to V17 Update 5 or later
HOTFIXUpdate SIPLUS HMI KTP400/700/900/1200 BASIC panels to V17 Update 5 or later
Long-term hardening
0/1
HARDENINGIsolate HMI panel network segments from business networks and Internet-facing infrastructure
View full CISA ICS-CERT advisory
API: /api/v1/advisories/3aa10c55-f610-4f49-a659-59c8491cf343

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Siemens SIMATIC HMI Panels | CVSS 7.5 - OTPulse