# CVE-2023-30897: Privilege escalation in SIMATIC WinCC

> An authenticated local attacker can escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code if a non-default installation path was used.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C`)
- **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:** 13 Jun 2023
- **Updated:** 3 Jan 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-chm6-c3vh-vvc3

## What is CVE-2023-30897?

CVE-2023-30897 is a high-severity vulnerability in Siemens SIMATIC WinCC, published on 13 Jun 2023. 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 WinCC (All versions < V7.5.2.13). Affected applications fail to set proper access rights for their installation folder if a non-default installation path was chosen during installation.

This could allow an authenticated local attacker to inject arbitrary code and escalate privileges.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-30897?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Siemens Wincc.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-30897?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-30897 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-30897 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-30897 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Siemens SIMATIC WinCC

- [CVE-2015-2823](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2823/): Auth bypass in n/a (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2013-4911](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4911/): Cross-site request forgery in n/a (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2013-4912](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4912/): Open redirect in n/a (medium 5.8)
- [CVE-2012-3003](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-3003/): Open redirect in n/a (medium 5.8)
- [CVE-2012-2596](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2596/): Code injection in n/a (medium 5.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-30897 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-30897 is a high-severity vulnerability in Siemens SIMATIC WinCC, published on 13 Jun 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-2023-30897 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Siemens SIMATIC WinCC. 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-2023-30897/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-30897/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-30897
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-30897
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-30897

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-30897/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.