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CVE-2024-41978 Siemens CVE debrief

CVE-2024-41978 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting 24 Siemens industrial router products, including SCALANCE M-series routers and RUGGEDCOM RM1224 devices. Published on August 13, 2024, the issue stems from sensitive 2FA token generation information being written to log files. An authenticated remote attacker with access to these logs could extract sufficient data to forge 2FA tokens for other users, effectively bypassing multi-factor authentication protections. The CVSS 3.1 score of 6.5 reflects network attack vector, low attack complexity, and required low privileges, with high confidentiality impact. Siemens has released firmware version 8.1 or later to remediate this vulnerability across all affected product lines.

Vendor
Siemens
Product
RUGGEDCOM RM1224 LTE(4G) EU (6GK6108-4AM00-2BA2)
CVSS
MEDIUM 6.5
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2024-08-13
Original CVE updated
2024-08-13
Advisory published
2024-08-13
Advisory updated
2024-08-13

Who should care

Organizations operating Siemens SCALANCE M-series, RUGGEDCOM RM1224, or SCALANCE S615 industrial routers in manufacturing, energy, transportation, or critical infrastructure environments. Security teams responsible for OT/ICS network authentication controls, identity management administrators, and compliance officers tracking industrial cybersecurity standards.

Technical summary

Affected Siemens industrial routers (SCALANCE M-series, RUGGEDCOM RM1224, and SCALANCE S615 models) write sensitive cryptographic material related to 2FA token generation into system log files. This information disclosure enables authenticated remote attackers with log access to reconstruct or forge valid 2FA tokens for arbitrary user accounts. The vulnerability requires network access and valid credentials (low privileges) but no user interaction. Impact is limited to confidentiality breach of authentication tokens; no direct integrity or availability impact. Remediation requires firmware update to version 8.1 or later, which eliminates sensitive data from logging output.

Defensive priority

high

Recommended defensive actions

  • Apply Siemens firmware update to version 8.1 or later for all affected SCALANCE and RUGGEDCOM devices
  • Review and restrict access to device log files to minimize exposure of sensitive 2FA generation data
  • Audit user accounts with authentication access to affected devices and rotate credentials if compromise is suspected
  • Implement network segmentation to limit remote access to industrial router management interfaces
  • Monitor for unauthorized authentication attempts or anomalous 2FA token usage patterns

Evidence notes

Vulnerability disclosed via CISA ICS advisory ICSA-24-228-01 and Siemens security advisory SSA-087301. Affects 24 distinct Siemens industrial router products. Remediation confirmed through vendor fix to version 8.1 or later.

Official resources

2024-08-13