The GNU Bash vulnerability dubbed ShellShock affects a wide range of software solutions, including some industrial products developed by the German engineering and electronics giant Siemens.
According to an advisory published by the company, variants of ShellShock (CVE-2014-6271, CVE-2014-7169, CVE-2014-7186, CVE-2014-7187, CVE-2014-6277 and CVE-2014-6278) can be exploited by an attacker to escalate privileges and remotely execute arbitrary code on affected devices.
Learn More at the ICS Cyber Security Conference Oct. 20 – 23, 2014.
The list of affected products includes ROX 1 versions prior to 1.16.0, and ROX 2 versions prior to 2.5.0. ROX (Rugged Operating System on Linux) is installed on various RUGGEDCOM industrial communications devices that are specially designed for harsh environments.
APE Linux V1.0 with ELAN installed is also impacted by ShellShock. Products such as APE Linux V1.0, APE Linux V2, SINUMERIK 808D, 828D and 840D, SINUMERIK Operate Programming Package, and SINUMERIK Integrate CreateMyHMI are not affected in their default configurations. However, users might configure them in a way that makes them vulnerable, Siemens said.
The company has pointed out that ROX 1 and ROX 2 are affected only if the DHCP client, which is the potential attack vector, is enabled. APE Linux with ELAN is affected because the ELAN Web interface can be used as an attack vector.
Siemens is currently working on developing patches for the affected products. In the meantime, the company advises ROX 1 and ROX 2 customers to protect themselves against potential attacks by deactivating automatic IP address assignment via DHCP and configure a static IP address. APE Linux customers whose installations are vulnerable to ShellShock attacks due to various modifications (installation of additional software or custom scripts) can apply the Debian patch.
Earlier this week, Siemens reported releasing an update for the SIMATIC PCS 7 distributed control system that addresses several vulnerabilities affecting the company’s SIMATIC WinCC SCADA system. SIMATIC PCS 7 is affected by the security holes because WinCC is incorporated into the product. WinCC was patched by the company back in July.
Learn More at the ICS Cyber Security Conference Oct. 20 – 23, 2014.