CVE-2012-0230 in Intelligent Platforms Proficy Plant Applications
Summary
by MITRE
PRRDS.exe in the Proficy Remote Data Service in GE Intelligent Platforms Proficy Plant Applications 5.0 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted TCP session on port 12299.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/30/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-0230 affects the Proficy Remote Data Service component within GE Intelligent Platforms Proficy Plant Applications version 5.0 and earlier. This service operates through PRRDS.exe and listens on TCP port 12299, making it accessible over network connections. The flaw represents a critical security weakness that could be exploited by remote attackers to either crash the service or potentially gain unauthorized code execution capabilities.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within the Proficy Remote Data Service implementation. When a maliciously crafted TCP session is established on port 12299, the service fails to properly handle malformed or unexpected data structures, leading to memory corruption conditions. This memory corruption can manifest as buffer overflows or other memory management errors that cause the service to crash or potentially allow arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability falls under CWE-121, which addresses stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers heap-based buffer overflow scenarios.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for industrial control systems and manufacturing environments that rely on GE Proficy Plant Applications. The ability to cause denial of service means that critical data collection and remote monitoring capabilities could be disrupted, potentially leading to production downtime or operational inefficiencies. The potential for arbitrary code execution escalates the risk to a more severe level, as attackers could gain persistent access to the affected systems and potentially move laterally within the industrial network infrastructure. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which involves exploiting weaknesses in remote services for initial access and persistence.
The exploitation of this vulnerability requires minimal technical expertise and can be performed remotely, making it particularly dangerous for industrial environments where network security may be less stringent than in traditional enterprise settings. Organizations using affected versions of Proficy Plant Applications face substantial risk of operational disruption and potential security breaches. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond immediate service disruption to potentially compromise the integrity of industrial processes and data management systems that depend on reliable communication between field devices and enterprise applications.
Effective mitigation strategies should include immediate deployment of vendor patches or updates, network segmentation to isolate the affected service, and implementation of network monitoring to detect anomalous TCP traffic on port 12299. Organizations should also consider disabling the Proficy Remote Data Service if it is not essential for operations, as this provides the most effective defense against exploitation. Additionally, regular vulnerability assessments and security audits should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in industrial control system components that may be vulnerable to similar attack vectors.