OTPulse

Siemens Simcenter Nastran

Plan PatchCVSS 7.8ICS-CERT ICSA-24-284-02Oct 8, 2024
Siemens
Attack path
Attack VectorLocal
Auth RequiredNone
ComplexityLow
User InteractionRequired
Summary

Simcenter Femap and Nastran contain memory corruption vulnerabilities (buffer overflow and out-of-bounds write) triggered when the application parses BDF (Bulk Data Format) files. A malicious BDF file can cause the application to crash or potentially execute arbitrary code when opened by a user. The vulnerability requires user interaction—an attacker must trick the user into opening a crafted file—but is not remotely exploitable.

What this means
What could happen
An attacker who tricks a user into opening a malicious BDF file in Simcenter Femap or Nastran could cause the application to crash, interrupt engineering work, or potentially execute arbitrary commands on the engineer's workstation.
Who's at risk
Engineering teams using Simcenter Femap or Simcenter Nastran for simulation and analysis work. Particularly affects organizations where engineers regularly exchange BDF files with external partners or download from public sources. Workstations running Femap V2401, V2306, or Nastran versions 2306, 2312, or 2406 (pre-5000) cannot be patched and require compensating controls.
How it could be exploited
The attacker crafts a malicious BDF (Bulk Data Format) file and tricks an engineer into opening it with Simcenter Femap or Nastran through social engineering (email, shared storage, etc.). When the application parses the file, memory corruption vulnerabilities trigger, causing either a crash or code execution on the engineer's machine.
Prerequisites
  • User must open a malicious BDF file (requires social engineering)
  • Application must be installed on user's workstation
Low complexityRequires user interaction (social engineering)Affects engineering workstationsEnd-of-life versions have no patches available
Exploitability
Unlikely to be exploited — EPSS score 0.1%
Affected products (6)
2 with fix4 EOL
ProductAffected VersionsFix Status
Simcenter Femap V2406All versionsLatest version via Femap 2406 Nastran Updates package
Simcenter Femap V2401All versionsNo fix (EOL)
Simcenter Femap V2306All versionsNo fix (EOL)
Simcenter Nastran 2406<V2406.50002406.5000
Simcenter Nastran 2306All versionsNo fix (EOL)
Simcenter Nastran 2312All versionsNo fix (EOL)
Remediation & Mitigation
0/4
Do now
0/1
WORKAROUNDTrain users not to open BDF files from untrusted sources (email attachments, external links, shared folders from unknown senders)
Schedule — requires maintenance window
0/2

Patching may require device reboot — plan for process interruption

Simcenter Nastran 2406
HOTFIXUpdate Simcenter Nastran 2406 to version 2406.5000 or later
Simcenter Femap V2406
HOTFIXUpdate Simcenter Femap V2406 to the latest version via Femap 2406 Nastran Updates package
Mitigations - no patch available
0/1
The following products have reached End of Life with no planned fix: Simcenter Femap V2401, Simcenter Femap V2306, Simcenter Nastran 2306, Simcenter Nastran 2312. Apply the following compensating controls:
HARDENINGRestrict write access to shared folders where BDF files are stored to prevent unauthorized file uploads
View full CISA ICS-CERT advisory
API: /api/v1/advisories/5b4b8c83-5819-473f-975c-8d9884f57161

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