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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2023-0217 Hitachi Energy CVE debrief

CVE-2023-0217 is a denial-of-service issue tied to OpenSSL public-key checking behavior. In the supplied CISA CSAF advisory, Hitachi Energy maps the issue to PCU400 and PCULogger versions used with IEC62351-3 secure IEC104/DNP3 features. The practical risk is application crash if malformed DSA public keys from untrusted sources are processed.

Vendor
Hitachi Energy
Product
PCU400
CVSS
HIGH 7.5
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2023-11-14
Original CVE updated
2024-03-12
Advisory published
2023-11-14
Advisory updated
2024-03-12

Who should care

Operators, integrators, and maintainers of Hitachi Energy PCU400 environments, especially systems using IEC62351-3 secure for IEC104/DNP3 and any PCULogger deployments at or below the affected versions.

Technical summary

The advisory describes an invalid pointer dereference on read when EVP_PKEY_public_check() is used to validate a malformed DSA public key. The most likely outcome is an application crash, which makes this a network-reachable denial-of-service concern when applications accept public keys from untrusted sources. The advisory notes that OpenSSL TLS does not call this function, but applications may call it for additional requirements such as FIPS 140-3.

Defensive priority

High. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H), and the likely impact is service disruption rather than data compromise.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Update Hitachi Energy PCU400 to version 6.6.0 or later if IEC62351-3 secure for IEC104/DNP3 is used.
  • Update Hitachi Energy PCU400 to version 9.4.2 or later if IEC62351-3 secure for IEC104/DNP3 is used.
  • Plan to update PCULogger to version 1.2.0 when it becomes available; the advisory states it is compatible with PCU400 9.4.2 and later.
  • Review whether your deployment accepts public keys from untrusted sources and whether EVP_PKEY_public_check() is used in any application-specific validation flow.
  • Apply CISA-recommended industrial control system defense-in-depth practices to reduce the impact of an application crash or service interruption.

Evidence notes

The supplied CSAF advisory (ICSA-25-065-01) published by CISA on 2025-02-25 maps CVE-2023-0217 to Hitachi Energy PCU400 and PCULogger. The advisory description states that malformed DSA public keys can trigger an invalid pointer dereference on read during EVP_PKEY_public_check(), most likely causing an application crash. Remediations in the advisory specify PCU400 6.6.0+ or 9.4.2+ depending on the product line, and PCULogger 1.2.0 when available. No KEV listing is included in the supplied data.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2023-0217 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-0217

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2023-0217 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-0217

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

  • Source item URL

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cisagov/CSAF/develop/csaf_files/OT/white/2025/icsa-25-065-01.json

    cisa_csaf

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-25-065-01

    Reference

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ics/alerts/ICS-ALERT-10-301-01

    Reference

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/ics-recommended-practices

    Reference

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/topics/industrial-control-systems

    Reference

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://us-cert.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/recommended_practices/NCCIC_ICS-CERT_Defense_in_Depth_2016_S508C.pdf

    Reference

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Cybersecurity_Best_Practices_for_Industrial_Control_Systems.pdf

    Reference

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.