# CVE-2020-28397: Missing authorization in SIMATIC Drive Controller family

> An attacker can extract protected PLC program variables via port 102/tcp due to incorrect authorization checks in Siemens SIMATIC devices.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 Aug 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-wg3f-fv3w-mw54

## What is CVE-2020-28397?

CVE-2020-28397 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Siemens SIMATIC Drive Controller family, published on 10 Aug 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability has been identified in SIMATIC Drive Controller family (All versions < V2.9.2), SIMATIC ET 200SP Open Controller CPU 1515SP PC2 (incl. SIPLUS variants) (All versions < V21.9), SIMATIC S7 PLCSIM Advanced (All versions > V2 < V4), SIMATIC S7-1200 CPU family (incl. SIPLUS variants) (Version V4.4), SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU family (incl. related ET200 CPUs and SIPLUS variants) (All versions > V2.5 < V2.9.2), SIMATIC S7-1500 Software Controller (All versions > V2.5 < V21.9), TIM 1531 IRC (incl. SIPLUS NET variants) (Version V2.1). Due to an incorrect authorization check in the affected component, an attacker could extract information about access protected PLC program variables over port 102/tcp from an affected device when reading multiple attributes at once.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-28397?

It affects 56 products.


Products: Siemens Cpu1510sp F-1 Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1211c Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1212c Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1212fc Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1214c Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1214fc Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1215c Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1215fc Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1217c Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1504d Tf Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1507d Tf Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1510sp-1pn Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1511-1pn Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1511c-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1511f-1pn Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1511t-1pn Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1511tf-1pn Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1512c-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1512sp-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Cpu 1512sp F-1 Pn Firmware and 36 more.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-28397?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-28397 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-28397 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-28397 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-28397 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-28397 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Siemens SIMATIC Drive Controller family, published on 10 Aug 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-28397 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Siemens SIMATIC Drive Controller family. 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-2020-28397/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-28397/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-28397
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-28397
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-28397

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-28397/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.