CVE-2023-46285
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows attackers to cause denial-of-service by sending specially crafted messages to port 4004/tcp on affected Siemens industrial software products. The service crashes but automatically restarts via watchdog. All users of affected Siemens Opcenter, SIMATIC, SINEC, and TIA Portal versions are impacted.
💻 Affected Systems
- Opcenter Execution Foundation
- Opcenter Quality
- SIMATIC PCS neo
- SINEC NMS
- Totally Integrated Automation Portal (TIA Portal)
📦 What is this software?
Sinumerik Integrate Runmyhmi \/automotive by Siemens
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Totally Integrated Automation Portal by Siemens
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Totally Integrated Automation Portal by Siemens
View all CVEs affecting Totally Integrated Automation Portal →
Totally Integrated Automation Portal by Siemens
View all CVEs affecting Totally Integrated Automation Portal →
Totally Integrated Automation Portal by Siemens
View all CVEs affecting Totally Integrated Automation Portal →
Totally Integrated Automation Portal by Siemens
View all CVEs affecting Totally Integrated Automation Portal →
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Persistent DoS attacks could disrupt industrial operations by repeatedly crashing critical services, potentially affecting production lines or quality control systems.
Likely Case
Temporary service disruption with automatic recovery, causing brief operational interruptions in industrial environments.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper network segmentation and monitoring; service automatically recovers within watchdog timeout period.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires sending crafted packets to port 4004/tcp; no authentication needed.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Opcenter Execution Foundation V2407, Opcenter Quality V2312, SIMATIC PCS neo V4.1, SINEC NMS V2.0 SP1, TIA Portal V17 Update 8, TIA Portal V18 Update 3
Vendor Advisory: https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-999588.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download appropriate update from Siemens support portal. 2. Backup system configuration. 3. Apply update following Siemens documentation. 4. Restart affected services. 5. Verify version update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Access Control
allRestrict access to port 4004/tcp using firewall rules
Windows: netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Block Siemens 4004" dir=in action=block protocol=TCP localport=4004
Linux: iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 4004 -j DROP
Service Port Change
windowsChange default port from 4004 to alternative port if supported
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation to isolate affected systems from untrusted networks
- Deploy intrusion detection systems to monitor for crafted packets on port 4004/tcp
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check installed version against affected versions list; verify port 4004/tcp is listening using netstat -an | findstr :4004 (Windows) or ss -tlnp | grep :4004 (Linux)Check Version:
Check within each application's about/help menu or Siemens management consoleVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm version is updated to patched version; test service stability with normal traffic📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Service crash and restart events in Windows Event Log or application logs
- Watchdog restart messages
Network Indicators:
- Unusual traffic patterns to port 4004/tcp
- Crafted packets with specific patterns to port 4004
SIEM Query:
source_port=4004 AND (packet_size>threshold OR unusual_pattern)