CVE-2023-52237 – This vulnerability in Siemens RUGGEDCOM industr... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-52237?

CVE-2023-52237 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). This vulnerability in Siemens RUGGEDCOM industrial networking devices allows low-privileged authenticated users to access password hashes and salts for all system users, including administrators. Attackers can use this information to perform offline brute-force attacks to crack passwords. The vulnerability affects numerous RUGGEDCOM switch, router, and gateway models across multiple product lines.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in Siemens RUGGEDCOM industrial networking devices allows low-privileged authenticated users to access password hashes and salts for all system users, including administrators. Attackers can use this information to perform offline brute-force attacks to crack passwords. The vulnerability affects numerous RUGGEDCOM switch, router, and gateway models across multiple product lines.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

RUGGEDCOM i800
RUGGEDCOM i800NC
RUGGEDCOM i801
RUGGEDCOM i801NC
RUGGEDCOM i802
RUGGEDCOM i802NC
RUGGEDCOM i803
RUGGEDCOM i803NC
RUGGEDCOM M2100
RUGGEDCOM M2100NC
RUGGEDCOM M2200
RUGGEDCOM M2200NC
RUGGEDCOM M969
RUGGEDCOM M969NC
RUGGEDCOM RMC30
RUGGEDCOM RMC30NC
RUGGEDCOM RMC8388 V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RMC8388 V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RMC8388NC V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RMC8388NC V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RP110
RUGGEDCOM RP110NC
RUGGEDCOM RS1600
RUGGEDCOM RS1600F
RUGGEDCOM RS1600FNC
RUGGEDCOM RS1600NC
RUGGEDCOM RS1600T
RUGGEDCOM RS1600TNC
RUGGEDCOM RS400
RUGGEDCOM RS400NC
RUGGEDCOM RS401
RUGGEDCOM RS401NC
RUGGEDCOM RS416
RUGGEDCOM RS416NC
RUGGEDCOM RS416NCv2 V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RS416NCv2 V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RS416P
RUGGEDCOM RS416PNC
RUGGEDCOM RS416PNCv2 V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RS416PNCv2 V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RS416Pv2 V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RS416Pv2 V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RS416v2 V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RS416v2 V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RS8000
RUGGEDCOM RS8000A
RUGGEDCOM RS8000ANC
RUGGEDCOM RS8000H
RUGGEDCOM RS8000HNC
RUGGEDCOM RS8000NC
RUGGEDCOM RS8000T
RUGGEDCOM RS8000TNC
RUGGEDCOM RS900
RUGGEDCOM RS900 (32M) V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RS900 (32M) V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RS900G
RUGGEDCOM RS900G (32M) V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RS900G (32M) V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RS900GNC
RUGGEDCOM RS900GNC(32M) V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RS900GNC(32M) V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RS900GP
RUGGEDCOM RS900GPNC
RUGGEDCOM RS900L
RUGGEDCOM RS900LNC
RUGGEDCOM RS900M-GETS-C01
RUGGEDCOM RS900M-GETS-XX
RUGGEDCOM RS900M-STND-C01
RUGGEDCOM RS900M-STND-XX
RUGGEDCOM RS900MNC-GETS-C01
RUGGEDCOM RS900MNC-GETS-XX
RUGGEDCOM RS900MNC-STND-XX
RUGGEDCOM RS900MNC-STND-XX-C01
RUGGEDCOM RS900NC
RUGGEDCOM RS900NC(32M) V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RS900NC(32M) V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RS900W
RUGGEDCOM RS910
RUGGEDCOM RS910L
RUGGEDCOM RS910LNC
RUGGEDCOM RS910NC
RUGGEDCOM RS910W
RUGGEDCOM RS920L
RUGGEDCOM RS920LNC
RUGGEDCOM RS920W
RUGGEDCOM RS930L
RUGGEDCOM RS930LNC
RUGGEDCOM RS930W
RUGGEDCOM RS940G
RUGGEDCOM RS940GNC
RUGGEDCOM RS969
RUGGEDCOM RS969NC
RUGGEDCOM RSG2100
RUGGEDCOM RSG2100 (32M) V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2100 (32M) V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2100NC
RUGGEDCOM RSG2100NC(32M) V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2100NC(32M) V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2100P
RUGGEDCOM RSG2100P (32M) V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2100P (32M) V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2100PNC
RUGGEDCOM RSG2100PNC (32M) V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2100PNC (32M) V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2200
RUGGEDCOM RSG2200NC
RUGGEDCOM RSG2288 V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2288 V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2288NC V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2288NC V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2300 V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2300 V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2300NC V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2300NC V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2300P V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2300P V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2300PNC V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2300PNC V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2488 V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2488 V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2488NC V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG2488NC V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG907R
RUGGEDCOM RSG908C
RUGGEDCOM RSG909R
RUGGEDCOM RSG910C
RUGGEDCOM RSG920P V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG920P V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG920PNC V4.X
RUGGEDCOM RSG920PNC V5.X
RUGGEDCOM RSL910
RUGGEDCOM RSL910NC
RUGGEDCOM RST2228
RUGGEDCOM RST2228P
RUGGEDCOM RST916C
RUGGEDCOM RST916P

Versions: All versions prior to V5.7.0 for affected products

Operating Systems: RUGGEDCOM Operating System (ROS)

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Affects web server component of devices. Requires authenticated access but low privileges are sufficient.

⚠️ Manual Verification Required

This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.

Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).

🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.

Recommended Actions:

Review the CVE details at NVD
Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Attackers gain administrative access to industrial control systems, potentially enabling disruption of critical infrastructure, data theft, or lateral movement into operational technology networks.

🟠

Likely Case

Attackers compromise administrative accounts to reconfigure network devices, disrupt industrial operations, or establish persistent access for future attacks.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper network segmentation and monitoring, impact is limited to the affected device with no lateral movement to critical systems.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: HIGH

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires authenticated access but only low privileges. Once hash data is obtained, offline brute-force attacks are straightforward.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: V5.7.0 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-170375.html

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Download firmware update V5.7.0 or later from Siemens Industrial Security. 2. Backup device configuration. 3. Apply firmware update via web interface or CLI. 4. Reboot device. 5. Verify firmware version and functionality.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Restrict Web Interface Access

all

Limit access to the web management interface to trusted IP addresses only

Configure firewall rules to restrict access to device management IP/ports
Use access control lists on upstream devices

Disable Unnecessary User Accounts

all

Remove or disable low-privileged user accounts that are not required for operations

Login to device CLI
Use user management commands to disable unnecessary accounts

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict network segmentation to isolate affected devices from critical systems
Enable comprehensive logging and monitoring for authentication attempts and configuration changes
Implement multi-factor authentication if supported
Regularly rotate administrative passwords using strong, complex passphrases

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check device firmware version via web interface or CLI. If version is earlier than V5.7.0, device is vulnerable.

Check Version:

show version (CLI) or check System Information in web interface

Verify Fix Applied:

After patching, verify firmware version is V5.7.0 or later. Test that low-privileged users cannot access password hash data.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual access to user management endpoints
Multiple failed authentication attempts from single source
Successful authentication followed by configuration changes

Network Indicators:

Unusual traffic patterns to device management interfaces
Brute-force attack patterns against device

SIEM Query:

source="RUGGEDCOM" AND (event_type="authentication" OR event_type="user_access") AND (user="low_privilege_user" AND resource="user_data")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-52237

CVSS v3 Score: 7.5 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-200

Published: July 9, 2024

Last Updated: August 12, 2025

🔗 References

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