CVE-2017-12732 in CIMPLICITY
Summary
by MITRE
A Stack-based Buffer Overflow issue was discovered in GE CIMPLICITY Versions 9.0 and prior. A function reads a packet to indicate the next packet length. The next packet length is not verified, allowing a buffer overwrite that could lead to an arbitrary remote code execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/15/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-12732 represents a critical stack-based buffer overflow in GE CIMPLICITY software versions 9.0 and earlier, constituting a significant security risk for industrial control systems. This flaw exists within the packet handling mechanism of the software, specifically in how it processes network communications between components. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation where the system reads a packet length indicator without proper verification of its bounds or legitimacy, creating an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a function that receives packet length information from network communications without performing sufficient validation checks. When the system processes incoming packets, it uses the length field provided in the packet header to determine how much data to read into a fixed-size buffer allocated on the stack. The absence of proper bounds checking means that an attacker can craft a malicious packet with an oversized length indicator, causing the system to write more data into the buffer than it can accommodate. This buffer overflow condition occurs in the stack memory area where the function's local variables are stored, potentially corrupting adjacent memory locations including return addresses and function pointers.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses a severe threat to industrial environments that rely on GE CIMPLICITY for supervisory control and data acquisition systems. The remote code execution capability allows attackers to gain full control over affected systems, potentially leading to complete system compromise, data manipulation, or disruption of critical industrial processes. The attack vector requires only network access to the vulnerable system, making it particularly dangerous in environments where industrial networks may have limited segmentation or where attackers can reach the targeted systems through various network paths. The impact extends beyond simple system compromise to potentially affect operational technology infrastructure that controls physical processes in manufacturing, energy, and other critical sectors.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow, which specifically addresses buffer overflows occurring in stack memory regions, and represents a classic example of how improper input validation can lead to remote code execution. This flaw also maps to ATT&CK technique T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution, as the vulnerability enables attackers to execute arbitrary code on target systems. Organizations using GE CIMPLICITY should immediately implement mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches, implementing network segmentation to isolate critical systems, and deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious network activity. Additionally, network access controls should be enforced to limit exposure of vulnerable systems to untrusted networks, while regular security assessments should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in industrial control system environments. The vulnerability underscores the importance of proper input validation and memory safety practices in industrial software development, particularly for systems that handle network communications and control critical infrastructure operations.