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CVE-2023-47038 Red Hat CVE debrief

A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Perl versions 5.30.0 through 5.38.0, triggered when a crafted regular expression is compiled. This vulnerability has been identified as affecting Siemens SINEC INS, an industrial network management system. The flaw allows an attacker-controlled byte buffer overflow in a heap-allocated buffer, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution or system compromise. The vulnerability was published on November 12, 2024, with a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.0 (HIGH), indicating significant risk to affected systems. Siemens has released a vendor fix, and CISA has issued advisory ICSA-24-319-08 to notify industrial control system operators of this security issue.

Vendor
Red Hat
Product
SINEC INS
CVSS
HIGH 7
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2024-11-12
Original CVE updated
2024-11-12
Advisory published
2024-11-12
Advisory updated
2024-11-12

Who should care

Industrial control system operators, OT security teams, Siemens SINEC INS administrators, Perl application maintainers, and organizations running critical infrastructure networks should prioritize this vulnerability. The HIGH severity rating and potential for arbitrary code execution in network management systems pose significant risks to operational technology environments.

Technical summary

This vulnerability stems from improper memory handling during Perl's regular expression compilation process. When processing a maliciously crafted regular expression, Perl fails to properly validate buffer boundaries, resulting in a heap-allocated buffer overflow. The attacker can control the byte content of the overflow, potentially overwriting adjacent memory structures. In the context of Siemens SINEC INS, this could allow an authenticated attacker with local access to escalate privileges or execute arbitrary code. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) reflects local attack requirements, high complexity due to crafting constraints, but severe impact if successfully exploited. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in industrial environments where SINEC INS manages critical network infrastructure.

Defensive priority

HIGH

Recommended defensive actions

  • Apply Siemens vendor fix: Update SINEC INS to V1.0 SP2 Update 3 or later version
  • Review and restrict access to systems running affected Perl versions
  • Monitor for anomalous regular expression processing or unexpected memory behavior
  • Implement network segmentation for industrial control systems per CISA recommended practices
  • Validate input sanitization for any user-supplied regular expressions in applications
  • Conduct vulnerability assessments on systems utilizing Perl 5.30.0 through 5.38.0

Evidence notes

The vulnerability affects Perl 5.30.0 through 5.38.0, specifically during regular expression compilation. Siemens SINEC INS is confirmed as an affected product through CISA's CSAF advisory ICSA-24-319-08. The CVSS vector indicates local attack vector with high attack complexity, requiring low privileges but no user interaction, with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2023-47038 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-47038

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

  • CVE-2023-47038 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-47038

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

Supplemental references

  • CVE-2023-47038

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cisagov/CSAF/develop/csaf_files/OT/white/2024/icsa-24-319-08.json

    cisa_csaf

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/csaf/ssa-915275.json

    Supplemental source

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-915275.html

    Supplemental source

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-24-319-08

    Supplemental source

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

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

    Supplemental source

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

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

    Supplemental source

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

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

    Supplemental source

  • 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

    Supplemental source

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.