Siemens SINEC INS

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• CVSS v3 9.8
• ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low attack complexity
• Vendor: Siemens
• Equipment: SINEC INS
• Vulnerability: Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability in third-party components could allow an attacker to interfere with the affected product in various ways.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

Siemens reports this vulnerability affects the following SINEC INS (Infrastructure Network Services) web-based application: 

• SINEC INS: All versions prior to v1.0.1.1

3.2 VULNERABILITY OVERVIEW

3.2.1    USING COMPONENTS WITH KNOWN VULNERABILITIES CWE-1035

There are 71 third-party components affected by this vulnerability as Node.js, cURL, SQLite, CivetWeb and DNS(ISC BIND) could allow an attacker to interfere with the affected product.

CVE-2019-19242, CVE-2019-19244, CVE-2019-19317, CVE-2019-19603, CVE-2019-19645, CVE-2019-19646, CVE-2019-19880, CVE-2019-19923, CVE-2019-19924, CVE-2019-19925, CVE-2019-19926, CVE-2020-1971, CVE-2020-7774, CVE-2020-8169, CVE-2020-8177, CVE-2020-8231, CVE-2020-8265, CVE-2020-8284, CVE-2020-8285, CVE-2020-8286, CVE-2020-8287, CVE-2020-8625, CVE-2020-9327, CVE-2020-11655, CVE-2020-11656, CVE-2020-13630, CVE-2020-13631, CVE-2020-13632, CVE-2020-13871, CVE-2020-15358, CVE-2020-27304, CVE-2021-3449, CVE-2021-3450, CVE-2021-3672, CVE-2021-3711, CVE-2021-3712, CVE-2021-22876, CVE-2021-22883, CVE-2021-22884, CVE-2021-22890, CVE-2021-22897, CVE-2021-22898, CVE-2021-22901, CVE-2021-22918, CVE-2021-22921, CVE-2021-22922, CVE-2021-22923, CVE-2021-22924, CVE-2021-22925, CVE-2021-22926, CVE-2021-22930, CVE-2021-22931, CVE-2021-22939, CVE-2021-22940, CVE-2021-22945, CVE-2021-22946, CVE-2021-22947, CVE-2021-23362, CVE-2021-23840, CVE-2021-25214, CVE-2021-25215, CVE-2021-25216, CVE-2021-25219, CVE-2021-27290, CVE-2021-32803, CVE-2021-32804, CVE-2021-37701, CVE-2021-37712, CVE-2021-37713, CVE-2021-39134, and CVE-2021-39135 have been assigned to these third-party component vulnerabilities. A CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 has been calculated for the worst case; the CVSS vector string is (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

3.3 BACKGROUND

• CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Energy
• COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
• COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: Germany

3.4 RESEARCHER

Siemens reported this vulnerability to CISA.

4. MITIGATIONS

Siemens has released an update for SINEC INS and recommends updating to v1.0.1.1 or later version. 

As a general security measure, Siemens strongly recommends protecting network access to devices with appropriate mechanisms. In order to operate the devices in a protected IT environment, Siemens recommends configuring the environment according to Siemens' operational guidelines for industrial security, and to follow the recommendations in the product manuals.

Additional information on industrial security by Siemens can be found at: https://www.siemens.com/industrialsecurity

For more information about this issue, please see Siemens’ security advisory SSA-389290

CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of this vulnerability. Specifically, users should:

• Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, and ensure they are not accessible from the Internet.
• Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls and isolate them from the business network.
• When remote access is required, use secure methods, such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), recognizing VPNs may have vulnerabilities and should be updated to the most current version available. Also recognize VPN is only as secure as its connected devices.

CISA reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures.



CISA also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS webpage on cisa.gov. Several recommended practices are available for reading and download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies.

Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available on the ICS webpage on cisa.gov in the Technical Information Paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B--Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies.



Organizations observing any suspected malicious activity should follow their established internal procedures and report their findings to CISA for tracking and correlation against other incidents.

No known public exploits specifically target this vulnerability.

• Siemens