CVE-2015-2822 in SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panel
Summary
by MITRE
Siemens SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panels before WinCC (TIA Portal) 13 SP1 Upd2 and SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Advanced before WinCC (TIA Portal) 13 SP1 Upd2 allow man-in-the-middle attackers to cause a denial of service via crafted packets on TCP port 102.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/03/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-2822 affects Siemens SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panels and SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Advanced systems operating before version WinCC (TIA Portal) 13 SP1 Upd2. This security flaw represents a significant concern for industrial control systems environments where these devices are deployed. The vulnerability specifically targets the communication protocols used by these human machine interface panels and runtime environments, which are critical components in industrial automation and process control systems. These devices are commonly found in manufacturing plants, oil and gas facilities, and other industrial settings where reliable communication between operators and control systems is essential for operational continuity.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the handling of TCP port 102 communications, which is traditionally used for ISO on TCP communication protocol in industrial automation environments. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting specially designed network packets that, when transmitted to the affected systems, trigger a denial of service condition. This man-in-the-middle attack vector allows adversaries to disrupt normal operations without requiring authentication or privileged access to the systems. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and insufficient packet processing mechanisms within the communication stack of these industrial devices, making them susceptible to malformed packet injection attacks that can cause system instability and operational disruption.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service interruption, as it can severely compromise the reliability of industrial processes that depend on these HMI panels and runtime environments. When affected systems experience denial of service conditions, operators lose access to critical monitoring and control functions, potentially leading to production halts, safety system failures, or process disruptions that can result in significant financial losses and operational downtime. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in environments where continuous operation is required, as the disruption caused by this attack can cascade through entire production lines. According to CWE standards, this represents a weakness in input validation and network protocol handling, specifically categorized under CWE-20 for improper input validation and CWE-119 for insufficient protection against buffer overflow conditions in network communications.
Organizations operating affected Siemens systems should prioritize immediate remediation through the application of available security updates and patches provided by Siemens. Network segmentation and monitoring should be implemented to detect anomalous packet patterns on TCP port 102, which could indicate attempted exploitation of this vulnerability. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the T1071.004 technique for application layer protocol usage, specifically targeting industrial control system communications. Additional mitigations include implementing network access controls to restrict unauthorized access to TCP port 102, deploying intrusion detection systems with signature-based detection for known malicious packet patterns, and establishing robust network monitoring protocols to quickly identify and respond to potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining current security patches for industrial control systems and highlights the need for comprehensive security assessments of operational technology environments to prevent similar issues from compromising critical infrastructure operations.