CVE-2017-7969 in PowerSCADA Anywhere
Summary
by MITRE
A cross-site request forgery vulnerability exists on the Secure Gateway component of Schneider Electric's PowerSCADA Anywhere v1.0 redistributed with PowerSCADA Expert v8.1 and PowerSCADA Expert v8.2 and Citect Anywhere version 1.0 for multiple state-changing requests. This type of attack requires some level of social engineering in order to get a legitimate user to click on or access a malicious link/site containing the CSRF attack.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/14/2021
The CVE-2017-7969 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within Schneider Electric's Secure Gateway component that affects PowerSCADA Anywhere v1.0 distributed with PowerSCADA Expert v8.1 and v8.2, as well as Citect Anywhere version 1.0. This vulnerability specifically targets state-changing requests within the industrial control systems environment, creating a significant security risk for critical infrastructure deployments. The flaw resides in the authentication and authorization mechanisms of the Secure Gateway component, which fails to properly validate the origin of requests, allowing malicious actors to execute unauthorized operations on behalf of authenticated users.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper request validation mechanisms within the Secure Gateway's web interface. When legitimate users interact with the PowerSCADA Anywhere web application, the system does not adequately verify that requests originate from authorized sources or that they contain appropriate anti-forgery tokens. This weakness enables attackers to craft malicious web pages or links that, when clicked by authenticated users, automatically submit requests to the vulnerable Secure Gateway component. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the application layer and can be exploited through social engineering techniques, requiring minimal technical expertise to execute successful attacks against industrial control systems.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-7969 extends beyond typical web application security concerns due to its presence in industrial control environments where system integrity and operational safety are paramount. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability could potentially manipulate critical power system operations, alter configuration settings, or disrupt service availability within SCADA systems. The attack vector relies heavily on social engineering because users must be induced to click malicious links, but once successful, the attacker can perform state-changing operations that directly affect power system operations. This makes the vulnerability particularly concerning for energy infrastructure operators who may be targeted by sophisticated adversaries seeking to compromise critical systems.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of the CWE-352 weakness classification, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities in web applications. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a technique involving privilege escalation and initial access through social engineering tactics. Organizations must implement comprehensive mitigation strategies including the deployment of anti-forgery tokens, proper request validation mechanisms, and user education programs to prevent successful exploitation. Additionally, network segmentation, web application firewalls, and regular security assessments should be employed to reduce the attack surface and protect against unauthorized access to industrial control system components. The vulnerability highlights the importance of securing all components within industrial environments, as even seemingly minor web interface flaws can have significant operational consequences.