CVE-2021-27501
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a coding standards violation in Philips Vue PACS medical imaging systems that can lead to security weaknesses. The vulnerability affects healthcare organizations using these systems, potentially allowing attackers to exploit resultant security flaws. The issue stems from failure to follow secure development practices.
💻 Affected Systems
- Philips Vue PACS
📦 What is this software?
Myvue by Philips
Speech by Philips
Vue Motion by Philips
Vue Pacs by Philips
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Exploitation could lead to complete system compromise, unauthorized access to patient medical images and data, disruption of medical imaging services, or ransomware deployment in healthcare environments.
Likely Case
Attackers could gain unauthorized access to sensitive patient data, manipulate medical images, or disrupt PACS operations affecting patient care workflows.
If Mitigated
With proper network segmentation, access controls, and monitoring, impact would be limited to isolated systems with minimal data exposure.
🎯 Exploit Status
CWE-710 indicates improper adherence to coding standards, which suggests the vulnerability requires specific conditions or additional weaknesses to be exploitable.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Versions after 12.2.x.x
Vendor Advisory: http://www.philips.com/productsecurity
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Contact Philips support for patching guidance. 2. Schedule maintenance window for healthcare system updates. 3. Apply vendor-provided patches. 4. Restart affected systems. 5. Verify system functionality post-update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Segmentation
allIsolate PACS systems from general hospital networks and internet access
Access Control Hardening
allImplement strict access controls and authentication for PACS systems
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to isolate PACS systems from other networks
- Deploy intrusion detection systems and monitor for anomalous activity
- Restrict user access to only necessary personnel
- Maintain offline backups of critical medical imaging data
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check system version against affected versions (12.2.x.x and prior)Check Version:
Check through Philips Vue PACS administrative interface or contact vendor supportVerify Fix Applied:
Verify system version is updated beyond 12.2.x.x and check vendor documentation📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthorized access attempts
- Unusual file access patterns
- System configuration changes
- Authentication failures
Network Indicators:
- Unusual network traffic to/from PACS systems
- Port scanning against PACS systems
- Anomalous protocol usage
SIEM Query:
source="pacs_system" AND (event_type="access_denied" OR event_type="config_change")