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Denial of Service Vulnerability in SIMATIC HMI Panels

Plan Patch7.5SSA-384224Oct 11, 2022
Attack VectorNetwork
Auth RequiredNone
ComplexityLow
User InteractionNone needed
Summary

A vulnerability in SIMATIC HMI Panels allows an attacker to cause a permanent denial of service by sending specially crafted TCP packets to the panel. The affected input validation flaw (CWE-20) impacts SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panels, KTP Mobile Panels, and all KTP Basic models (400/700/900/1200) in various firmware versions. Affected products cannot recover automatically; manual reboot is required.

What this means
What could happen
An attacker on your network can crash SIMATIC HMI panels by sending malformed network packets, requiring manual reboot and taking the interface offline until recovered. This interrupts operator visibility and control of your process.
Who's at risk
Manufacturing facilities using Siemens SIMATIC HMI panels (Comfort, KTP Mobile, and KTP Basic series) for operator interfaces and process monitoring. This affects any plant that relies on these touchscreens for visibility and control of production lines, batch processes, or utility operations.
How it could be exploited
An attacker sends specially crafted TCP packets to the HMI panel's network interface. The panel fails to validate the packet structure properly, crashes, and becomes unresponsive until physically rebooted. No authentication or special configuration is required.
Prerequisites
  • Network access to the HMI panel (typically within the industrial network or from the corporate network if the panel is connected to it)
  • Ability to send raw TCP packets to the HMI panel's IP address
Remotely exploitable over the networkNo authentication requiredLow complexity attack (malformed packet)Causes permanent denial of service (requires reboot)Affects operator visibility and control interface
Exploitability
Low exploit probability (EPSS 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
0/4
Do now
0/1
WORKAROUNDRestrict network access to HMI panels using firewall rules; only allow TCP traffic from authorized engineering workstations, control room networks, and SCADA servers
Schedule — requires maintenance window
0/2

Patching may require device reboot — plan for process interruption

SIMATIC HMI KTP Mobile Panels
HOTFIXUpdate SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panels and SIMATIC HMI KTP Mobile Panels to V17 Update 4 or later
All products
HOTFIXUpdate SIMATIC HMI KTP400/700/900/1200 Basic models (including SIPLUS variants) to V17 Update 5 or later
Long-term hardening
0/1
HARDENINGSegment HMI panels onto a dedicated control network isolated from corporate and untrusted networks
View full Siemens ProductCERT advisory
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