# CVE-2023-46096: Auth bypass in SIMATIC PCS neo

> An unauthenticated attacker can bypass authentication in SIMATIC PCS neo to generate privileged tokens and upload documents.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N/E:P/RL:O/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:** 14 Nov 2023
- **Updated:** 8 Jan 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rx8q-grjm-x4p7

## What is CVE-2023-46096?

CVE-2023-46096 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Siemens SIMATIC PCS neo, published on 14 Nov 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 PCS neo (All versions < V4.1). The PUD Manager of affected products does not properly authenticate users in the PUD Manager web service. This could allow an unauthenticated adjacent attacker to generate a privileged token and upload additional documents.

Weakness: CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-46096?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Siemens Simatic Pcs Neo.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-46096?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-46096 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-46096 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-46096 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Siemens SIMATIC PCS neo

- [CVE-2025-40795](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-40795/): Memory corruption in SIMATIC PCS neo V4.1 (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2025-40796](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-40796/): Memory corruption in SIMATIC PCS neo V4.1 (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2025-40797](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-40797/): Denial of service in SIMATIC PCS neo V4.1 (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2025-40798](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-40798/): Memory corruption in SIMATIC PCS neo V4.1 (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2025-30175](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-30175/): Memory corruption in SIMATIC PCS neo V4.1 (high 8.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-46096 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-46096 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Siemens SIMATIC PCS neo, published on 14 Nov 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-2023-46096 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Siemens SIMATIC PCS neo. 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-2023-46096/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46096/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46096
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-46096
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-46096

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46096/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.