Full Report
Industrial Edge Management contains a vulnerability that could allow an unauthenticated attacker to spoof a trusted entity by interfering in the communication path between the Industrial Edge Management (IEM) and the Industrial Edge Hub (IEH) using a crafted certificate. An attacker could use this to inject malicious maintenance requests (e.g. sending statistics, activating remote support, exchanging the initial keys when onboarding, querying new extensions). Siemens has released an update for the Industrial Edge Management and recommends to update to the latest version.
Analysis Summary
# Vulnerability: Improper Certificate Validation in Siemens Industrial Edge Management
## CVE Details
- **CVE ID:** CVE-2023-45892
- **CVSS Score:** 7.5 (High)
- **CWE:** CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation)
## Affected Systems
- **Products:** Siemens Industrial Edge Management (IEM)
- **Versions:** All versions prior to V1.17.0
- **Configurations:** Systems communicating with the Industrial Edge Hub (IEH) over the network.
## Vulnerability Description
A vulnerability exists in the way the Industrial Edge Management (IEM) validates certificates when communicating with the Industrial Edge Hub (IEH). An unauthenticated attacker positioned in the communication path (Man-in-the-Middle) can present a crafted certificate to spoof a trusted entity. Because the IEM fails to properly verify the authenticity of the certificate, the attacker can intercept and manipulate the encrypted session.
## Exploitation
- **Status:** Not exploited (No known public exploits or reports of exploitation in the wild at this time).
- **Complexity:** Medium (Requires the ability to intercept network traffic between IEM and IEH).
- **Attack Vector:** Network (An attacker must be able to position themselves between the two components).
## Impact
- **Confidentiality:** Medium (Potential interception of maintenance data and statistics).
- **Integrity:** High (Attacker can inject malicious maintenance requests, activate remote support, or exchange initial onboarding keys).
- **Availability:** Low (Potential for service disruption through malicious requests).
## Remediation
### Patches
- **Industrial Edge Management V1.17.0:** Siemens has released this version to address the vulnerability. Users are recommended to update immediately.
### Workarounds
- Ensure the network path between the Industrial Edge Management and the Industrial Edge Hub is secured and restricted.
- Implement strict firewall rules to prevent unauthorized Man-in-the-Middle positioning within the industrial network.
## Detection
- **Indicators of Compromise:** Unusual remote support activations, unexpected key exchanges during onboarding, or anomalous maintenance request logs.
- **Detection Methods:** Network traffic analysis for non-standard or unrecognized certificates in TLS handshakes between IEM and IEH components.
## References
- **Vendor Advisory:** SSA-214474
- **Link:** hxxps[://]cert-portal[.]siemens[.]com/productcert/pdf/ssa-214474[.]pdf
- **Siemens Security Advisory Page:** hxxps[://]siemens[.]com/cert/advisories