# CVE-2022-38773: Security feature bypass in SIMATIC Drive Controller CPU 1504D TF

> Attackers with physical access can bypass boot integrity checks to execute arbitrary code on Siemens SIMATIC controllers.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N/E:P/RL:T/RC:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 Jan 2023
- **Updated:** 3 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-4qpv-c2wc-cr4r

## What is CVE-2022-38773?

CVE-2022-38773 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Siemens SIMATIC Drive Controller CPU 1504D TF, published on 10 Jan 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Affected devices do not contain an Immutable Root of Trust in Hardware. With this the integrity of the code executed on the device can not be validated during load-time. An attacker with physical access to the device could use this to replace the boot image of the device and execute arbitrary code.

Weakness: CWE-1326 (Missing Immutable Root of Trust in Hardware)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-38773?

It affects 70 products.


Products: Siemens Simatic Drive Controller Cpu 1504d Tf Firmware, Siemens Simatic Drive Controller Cpu 1507d Tf Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1510sp-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1510sp F-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1511-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1511c-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1511f-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1511t-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1511tf-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1512c-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1512sp-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1512sp F-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1513-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1513f-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1513pro-2 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1513pro F-2 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1513r-1 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1515-2 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1515f-2 Pn Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Cpu 1515r-2 Pn Firmware and 50 more.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-38773?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-38773 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-38773 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-38773 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Siemens SIMATIC Drive Controller CPU 1504D TF

- [CVE-2022-38465](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38465/): Weak cryptography in SIMATIC Drive Controller family (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2023-46156](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46156/): Use after free in SIMATIC Drive Controller CPU 1504D TF (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2021-37185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37185/): Denial of service in SIMATIC Drive Controller family (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2021-37204](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37204/): Denial of service in SIMATIC Drive Controller family (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2021-37205](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37205/): Denial of service in SIMATIC Drive Controller family (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-38773 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-38773 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Siemens SIMATIC Drive Controller CPU 1504D TF, published on 10 Jan 2023. 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-2022-38773 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Siemens SIMATIC Drive Controller CPU 1504D TF. 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-2022-38773/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38773/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-38773
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-38773
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-38773

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38773/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.