CVE-2017-9963 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 • 01/04/2020
The CVE-2017-9963 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within Schneider Electric's PowerSCADA Anywhere secure gateway component. This vulnerability affects multiple versions including PowerSCADA Expert v8.1 and v8.2, as well as Citect Anywhere version 1.0, making it a widespread concern for industrial control system deployments. The flaw specifically targets state-changing requests, which are operations that modify system configurations or execute commands that alter the operational state of the industrial infrastructure. Such vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous in operational technology environments where system integrity and security are paramount for maintaining safe and reliable operations.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-forgery tokens or validation mechanisms in the Secure Gateway component's web interface. When legitimate users interact with the PowerSCADA Anywhere interface, the system fails to verify that requests originate from authenticated users within the same session context. This weakness allows attackers to craft malicious web pages or links that, when clicked by an authenticated user, automatically submit requests to the vulnerable system. The attack vector relies heavily on social engineering tactics because users must be convinced to interact with malicious content, typically through phishing emails, compromised websites, or malicious attachments that contain the crafted CSRF payloads.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-9963 extends beyond simple data theft or unauthorized access, as it can potentially disrupt critical industrial processes and compromise system integrity. State-changing requests in industrial control systems can trigger actions such as modifying control parameters, changing access permissions, initiating system shutdowns, or altering operational configurations that could lead to production disruptions, safety hazards, or even physical damage to equipment. The vulnerability's presence in PowerSCADA Expert and Citect Anywhere systems places organizations at risk of unauthorized modifications to their industrial control infrastructure, which could be exploited to cause operational failures or create backdoor access for further attacks. This risk is particularly elevated in environments where these systems manage critical infrastructure such as power generation, water treatment, or manufacturing processes where reliability and security are essential.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including deploying web application firewalls to detect and block CSRF attacks, implementing proper anti-forgery token validation mechanisms, and conducting comprehensive user awareness training to recognize social engineering attempts. The mitigation strategy should align with established cybersecurity frameworks such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and ISO 27001 standards for information security management. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1566 (Phishing) and T1071.004 (Application Layer Protocol: DNS) as attackers leverage social engineering to deliver malicious payloads and potentially use DNS for command and control communications. Additionally, the vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery, emphasizing the need for proper validation of user requests and session management. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation, access controls, and regular security assessments to prevent exploitation of this and similar vulnerabilities in their industrial control systems.