Siemens SIMATIC, SCALANCE and RUGGEDCOM Devices Use After Free (CVE-2023-5178)

high Tenable OT Security Plugin ID 503845

Synopsis

The remote OT asset is affected by a vulnerability.

Description

A use-after-free vulnerability was found in drivers/nvme/target/tcp.c` in `nvmet_tcp_free_crypto` due to a logical bug in the NVMe-oF/TCP subsystem in the Linux kernel. This issue may allow a malicious local privileged user to cause a use-after-free and double-free problem, which may permit remote code execution or lead to local privilege escalation problem.

This plugin only works with Tenable.ot.
Please visit https://www.tenable.com/products/tenable-ot for more information.

Solution

The following text was originally created by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The original can be found at CISA.gov.

Siemens has identified the following specific workarounds and mitigations users can apply to reduce risk:

- All affected products: Update to V3.1 or later version

As a general security measure, Siemens recommends protecting network access to devices with appropriate mechanisms. To operate the devices in a protected IT environment, Siemens recommends configuring the environment according to Siemens' operational guidelines for industrial security and following recommendations in the product manuals.

For more information, see the associated Siemens security advisory in HTML and CSAF.

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 503845

File Name: tenable_ot_siemens_CVE-2023-5178.nasl

Version: 1.2

Type: remote

Family: Tenable.ot

Published: 10/29/2025

Updated: 2/27/2026

Supported Sensors: Tenable OT Security

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 6.7

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 8.8

Temporal Score: 7.9

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:P/RL:O/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/o:siemens:scalance_xc-400_series_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:scalance_xr-500wg_series_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:scalance_xc-300_series_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:scalance_xr-300_series_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:ruggedcom_rst2428p_firmware:3.1, cpe:/o:siemens:scalance_xrm-300_series_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:scalance_xcm-300_series_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:scalance_xrh-300_series_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:scalance_xr-500_series_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:scalance_xch-300_series_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:simatic_s7-1500_tm_mfp_firmware

Required KB Items: Tenable.ot/Siemens

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 6/13/2023

Vulnerability Publication Date: 6/13/2023

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2023-5178

CWE: 416

ICSA: 25-226-15

Detections

Analytics