# CVE-2020-7581: Privilege escalation in Opcenter Execution Discrete

> Local attackers with administrative privileges can execute code with SYSTEM level privileges due to unquoted service paths in Siemens industrial applications.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Jul 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6pc5-ccr3-mpqp

## What is CVE-2020-7581?

CVE-2020-7581 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Siemens Opcenter Execution Discrete, published on 14 Jul 2020. 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 Opcenter Execution Discrete (All versions < V3.2), Opcenter Execution Foundation (All versions < V3.2), Opcenter Execution Process (All versions < V3.2), Opcenter Intelligence (All versions < V3.3), Opcenter Quality (All versions < V11.3), Opcenter RD&L (V8.0), SIMATIC Notifier Server for Windows (All versions), SIMATIC PCS neo (All versions < V3.0 SP1), SIMATIC STEP 7 (TIA Portal) V15 (All versions < V15.1 Update 5), SIMATIC STEP 7 (TIA Portal) V16 (All versions < V16 Update 2), SIMOCODE ES V15.1 (All versions < V15.1 Update 4), SIMOCODE ES V16 (All versions < V16 Update 1), Soft Starter ES V15.1 (All versions < V15.1 Update 3), Soft Starter ES V16 (All versions < V16 Update 1). A component within the affected application calls a helper binary with SYSTEM privileges during startup while the call path is not quoted. This could allow a local attacker with administrative privileges to execute code with SYSTEM level privileges.

Weakness: CWE-428 (Unquoted Search Path or Element)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-7581?

It affects 11 products.


Products: Siemens Opcenter Execution Discrete, Siemens Opcenter Execution Foundation, Siemens Opcenter Execution Process, Siemens Opcenter Intelligence, Siemens Opcenter Quality, Siemens Opcenter Rd\&l, Siemens Simatic Notifier Server, Siemens Simatic Pcs Neo, Siemens Simatic Step 7, Siemens Simocode Es, Siemens Soft Starter Es.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-7581?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-7581 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-7581 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-7581 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Siemens Opcenter Execution Discrete

- [CVE-2020-7587](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7587/): Denial of service in Opcenter Execution Discrete (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2020-7588](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7588/): Denial of service in Opcenter Execution Discrete (medium 5.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-7581 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-7581 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Siemens Opcenter Execution Discrete, published on 14 Jul 2020. 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-2020-7581 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Siemens Opcenter Execution Discrete. 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-2020-7581/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7581/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-7581
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-7581
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-7581

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7581/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.