CVE-2017-2681 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

A denial of service vulnerability affecting various Siemens products due to specially crafted PROFINET DCP packets.

Understanding CVE-2017-2681

This CVE involves a vulnerability that could lead to a denial of service condition in Siemens products when receiving specific PROFINET DCP packets.

What is CVE-2017-2681?

The affected products may experience a denial of service if they receive specially designed PROFINET DCP packets on a local Ethernet segment (Layer 2). Human intervention is required to restore the system. Notably, PROFIBUS interfaces are not impacted, and only specific Siemens devices are affected.

The Impact of CVE-2017-2681

The vulnerability could result in a denial of service condition in the affected Siemens products, necessitating manual intervention to recover the system. Only certain Siemens devices are vulnerable to this issue.

Technical Details of CVE-2017-2681

This section provides detailed technical information about the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

The affected products may face a denial of service due to specially crafted PROFINET DCP packets on a local Ethernet segment.

Affected Systems and Versions

Various Siemens products are impacted, including Development/Evaluation Kits for PROFINET IO, SCALANCE switches, SIMATIC CPs, and more.

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers can exploit the vulnerability by sending malicious PROFINET DCP packets to the affected products, triggering a denial of service condition.

Mitigation and Prevention

Steps to address and prevent the CVE-2017-2681 vulnerability.

Immediate Steps to Take

Apply patches provided by Siemens to mitigate the vulnerability.
Implement network segmentation to limit exposure to potentially malicious traffic.
Monitor network traffic for any signs of exploitation.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update and patch affected Siemens products to protect against known vulnerabilities.
Conduct security assessments and audits to identify and address potential weaknesses in the network.

Patching and Updates

Siemens has released patches to address the vulnerability. Ensure all affected products are updated to the patched versions to mitigate the risk of exploitation.