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CVE-2023-44319 Siemens CVE debrief

CVE-2023-44319 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting Siemens SCALANCE W700 series industrial wireless access points. The issue stems from a weak checksum algorithm used to protect configuration backup files that administrators can export from affected devices. Because the checksum mechanism is insufficiently robust, an attacker with administrative privileges could modify a configuration file and upload it to alter device settings. Alternatively, an attacker could deceive a legitimate administrator into uploading a tampered configuration file, achieving the same outcome without direct authentication. The vulnerability was published on June 11, 2024, and last modified on January 14, 2025, when Siemens released firmware version 3.0.0 to address this and related issues. The CVSS 3.1 score of 4.9 reflects the requirement for high privileges or social engineering, combined with the network attack vector and high integrity impact. Nineteen product variants across the SCALANCE W700 family are affected, including models with regional variants for the US and Middle East markets, as well as EEC (Enhanced Environmental Conditions) versions. Organizations operating these devices in industrial control system environments should prioritize upgrading to firmware version 3.0.0 or later, as this release contains the definitive fix for this configuration integrity weakness.

Vendor
Siemens
Product
SCALANCE WAB762-1 (6GK5762-1AJ00-6AA0)
CVSS
MEDIUM 4.9
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2024-02-13
Original CVE updated
2024-02-13
Advisory published
2024-02-13
Advisory updated
2024-02-13

Who should care

Organizations operating Siemens SCALANCE W700 series wireless access points in industrial, manufacturing, or critical infrastructure environments. Security teams responsible for OT/ICS network integrity, configuration management personnel, and industrial network administrators should prioritize this update to prevent unauthorized device reconfiguration that could disrupt operations or enable further network compromise.

Technical summary

Affected SCALANCE W700 devices rely on a weak checksum algorithm to protect exported configuration backup files. This cryptographic weakness allows an authenticated administrator or a social engineering attacker to modify configuration files such that the tampering goes undetected upon upload. Successful exploitation results in unauthorized modification of device configuration without integrity verification failure. The attack requires either existing administrative privileges on the device or deception of a legitimate administrator to upload a malicious file. The vulnerability is resolved in firmware version 3.0.0, which implements stronger integrity protection for configuration backups.

Defensive priority

medium

Recommended defensive actions

  • Upgrade affected SCALANCE W700 series devices to firmware version 3.0.0 or later to remediate the weak checksum vulnerability
  • Verify current firmware version on all deployed SCALANCE W700 devices and schedule maintenance windows for updates
  • Implement configuration backup file integrity verification through out-of-band mechanisms until patches are applied
  • Restrict administrative access to device configuration interfaces to trusted personnel only
  • Train administrators to verify configuration file sources before upload and to validate checksums independently where possible
  • Monitor for unauthorized configuration changes through device logging and centralized SIEM integration
  • Apply network segmentation to isolate industrial wireless infrastructure from untrusted networks
  • Review and implement CISA ICS recommended practices for defense-in-depth strategies in industrial control environments

Evidence notes

Vulnerability description and affected product list derived from CISA CSAF advisory ICSA-24-165-12. Remediation guidance (update to V3.0.0) and revision history confirming fix availability as of January 14, 2025, extracted from same source. CVSS score and vector from sourceItem metadata.

Official resources

2024-06-11