# CVE-2020-10048: Auth bypass in SIMATIC PCS 7

> An attacker can bypass password protection on SIMATIC PCS 7 and WinCC files to access protected content without authentication.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 Feb 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-vmjg-j3qq-h4fv

## What is CVE-2020-10048?

CVE-2020-10048 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7, published on 9 Feb 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability has been identified in SIMATIC PCS 7 (All versions), SIMATIC WinCC (All versions < V7.5 SP2). Due to an insecure password verification process, an attacker could bypass the password protection set on protected files, thus being granted access to the protected content, circumventing authentication.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication), CWE-288 (Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-10048?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Siemens Simatic Pcs 7, Siemens Simatic Wincc.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-10048?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-10048 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-10048 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-10048 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7

- [CVE-2023-25910](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-25910/): Code injection in SIMATIC PCS 7 (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2021-40358](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40358/): Path traversal in SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.2 (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2019-10922](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-10922/): Auth bypass in SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.0 and earlier (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-40360](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40360/): Information disclosure in SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.2 (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-10916](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-10916/): SQL injection in SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.0 and earlier (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-10048 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-10048 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7, published on 9 Feb 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-10048 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-10048/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-10048/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-10048
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-10048
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-10048

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-10048/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.