Siemens User Management Component
Act Now9.8ICS-CERT ICSA-24-354-04Dec 16, 2024
Attack VectorNetwork
Auth RequiredNone
ComplexityLow
User InteractionNone needed
Summary
Siemens User Management Component is affected by a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-122) that could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability is in the UMC service that handles authentication and user management for Siemens industrial software products including Opcenter, SIMATIC PCS neo, SINEC NMS, and TIA Portal. An attacker can trigger the overflow by sending a malicious network packet to ports 4002 or 4004 without needing valid credentials.
What this means
What could happen
An attacker could exploit a buffer overflow in the User Management Component to run arbitrary code on affected systems, potentially gaining control of engineering workstations, SCADA servers, or process management platforms that depend on this component.
Who's at risk
Manufacturing operations and utilities using Siemens MES/SCADA platforms are affected. Specifically, organizations running Opcenter (Execution Foundation, Intelligence, Quality, RDnL), SIMATIC PCS neo, SINEC NMS, or TIA Portal engineering environments should assess their exposure. This impacts production schedulers, process engineers, and IT operations that depend on these components for plant operations.
How it could be exploited
An unauthenticated attacker sends a specially crafted network request to the User Management Component listening on ports 4002 or 4004, triggering a heap buffer overflow that overwrites memory and allows code execution. The attacker does not need credentials or user interaction.
Prerequisites
- Network access to ports 4002 or 4004 where User Management Component is listening
- Ability to craft and send malformed packets to the UMC service
remotely exploitableno authentication requiredlow complexityhigh CVSS score (9.8)affects engineering and production management systemsno patch available for TIA Portal V16-V19 and SIMATIC PCS neo V4.0
Exploitability
Moderate exploit probability (EPSS 2.6%)
Affected products (12)
7 with fix5 EOL
ProductAffected VersionsFix Status
Totally Integrated Automation Portal (TIA Portal) V16All versionsNo fix (EOL)
Opcenter Execution Foundation< 2501.00012501.0001
Opcenter Intelligence< 2501.00012501.0001
Opcenter Quality< 25122512
Opcenter RDnL< 24102410
SIMATIC PCS neo V4.1<V4.1 Update 34.1 Update 3
SIMATIC PCS neo V5.0<V5.0 Update 15.0 Update 1
SIMATIC PCS neo V4.0All versionsNo fix (EOL)
Remediation & Mitigation
0/11
Do now
0/2WORKAROUNDRestrict network access to ports 4002 and 4004 at the firewall to only allow connections from IP addresses that run User Management Component and are part of the UMC network
WORKAROUNDIf RT server machines are not in use, block port 4004 entirely at the firewall
Schedule — requires maintenance window
0/7Patching may require device reboot — plan for process interruption
Opcenter Execution Foundation
HOTFIXUpdate Opcenter Execution Foundation to version 2501.0001 or later
Opcenter Intelligence
HOTFIXUpdate Opcenter Intelligence to version 2501.0001 or later
Opcenter Quality
HOTFIXUpdate Opcenter Quality to version 2512 or later
Opcenter RDnL
HOTFIXUpdate Opcenter RDnL to version 2410 or later
SIMATIC PCS neo V4.1
HOTFIXUpdate SIMATIC PCS neo V4.1 to Update 3 or later
SIMATIC PCS neo V5.0
HOTFIXUpdate SIMATIC PCS neo V5.0 to Update 1 or later
SINEC NMS
HOTFIXUpdate SINEC NMS to V3.0 SP2 or later and UMC to V2.15 or later
Mitigations - no patch available
0/2The following products have reached End of Life with no planned fix: Totally Integrated Automation Portal (TIA Portal) V16, SIMATIC PCS neo V4.0, Totally Integrated Automation Portal (TIA Portal) V17, Totally Integrated Automation Portal (TIA Portal) V18, Totally Integrated Automation Portal (TIA Portal) V19. Apply the following compensating controls:
HARDENINGImplement network segmentation to isolate User Management Component and devices that depend on it from untrusted networks
HARDENINGApply Siemens operational security guidelines for industrial security in your environment
CVEs (1)
↑↓ Navigate · Esc Close
API:
/api/v1/advisories/a3d9f989-a470-4147-b08e-f0c93772cf2e