Siemens SIMATIC S7-1500 and Ruggedcom ROX Devices Out-of-bounds Write (CVE-2020-21047)

medium Tenable OT Security Plugin ID 504146

Synopsis

The remote OT asset is affected by a vulnerability.

Description

The libcpu component which is used by libasm of elfutils version 0.177 (git 47780c9e), suffers from denial-of-service vulnerability caused by application crashes due to out-of-bounds write (CWE-787), off-by-one error (CWE-193) and reachable assertion (CWE-617); to exploit the vulnerability, the attackers need to craft certain ELF files which bypass the missing bound checks.

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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:

- SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518-4 PN/DP MFP (6ES7518-4AX00-1AB0): Only build and run applications from trusted sources.
Currently no fix is available.
- SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518-4 PN/DP MFP (6ES7518-4AX00-1AC0): Only build and run applications from trusted sources.
Currently no fix is available.
- SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518F-4 PN/DP MFP (6ES7518-4FX00-1AB0): Only build and run applications from trusted sources.
Currently no fix is available.
- SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518F-4 PN/DP MFP (6ES7518-4FX00-1AC0): Only build and run applications from trusted sources.
Currently no fix is available.
- SIPLUS S7-1500 CPU 1518-4 PN/DP MFP (6AG1518-4AX00-4AC0): Only build and run applications from trusted sources.
Currently no fix is available.

Note: This SSA advises vulnerabilities for firmware version V3.1 only; for versions prior to V3.1 refer to SiemensSecurity Bulletin SSB-439005.

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.

Additional information on industrial security by Siemens can be found on the Siemens industrial security webpage.

For more information see the associated Siemens security advisory SSA-398330 in HTML and CSAF.

Plugin Details

Severity: Medium

ID: 504146

File Name: tenable_ot_siemens_CVE-2020-21047.nasl

Version: 1.4

Type: remote

Family: Tenable.ot

Published: 11/13/2025

Updated: 3/5/2026

Supported Sensors: Tenable OT Security

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Low

Score: 3.6

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 5.5

Temporal Score: 5

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

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

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/o:siemens:ruggedcom_rox_rx1400_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:ruggedcom_rox_rx1500_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:ruggedcom_rox_rx1512_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:ruggedcom_rox_rx1501_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:simatic_s7-1500_cpu_firmware:3.1.5, cpe:/o:siemens:ruggedcom_rox_rx1536_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:ruggedcom_rox_rx1524_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:ruggedcom_rox_rx1511_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:ruggedcom_rox_rx5000_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:ruggedcom_rox_mx5000_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:ruggedcom_rox_mx5000re_firmware, cpe:/o:siemens:siplus_s7-1500_cpu_firmware:3.1.5, cpe:/o:siemens:ruggedcom_rox_rx1510_firmware

Required KB Items: Tenable.ot/Siemens

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 12/12/2023

Vulnerability Publication Date: 12/12/2023

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2020-21047

CWE: 787

ICSA: 23-348-10

Detections

Analytics