ICS Advisory

Siemens SIMATIC PCS neo

Release Date
Alert Code
ICSA-25-135-12

As of January 10, 2023, CISA will no longer be updating ICS security advisories for Siemens product vulnerabilities beyond the initial advisory. For the most up-to-date information on vulnerabilities in this advisory, please see Siemens' ProductCERT Security Advisories (CERT Services | Services | Siemens Global).

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

  • CVSS v4 8.7
  • ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low attack complexity
  • Vendor: Siemens
  • Equipment: SIMATIC PCS neo
  • Vulnerability: Insufficient Session Expiration

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow a remote unauthenticated attacker, who has obtained the session token by other means, to re-use a legitimate user's session even after logout.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

Siemens reports that the following products are affected:

  • SIMATIC PCS neo V4.1: All versions prior to V4.1 Update 3
  • SIMATIC PCS neo V5.0: All versions prior to V5.0 Update 1

3.2 VULNERABILITY OVERVIEW

3.2.1 INSUFFICIENT SESSION EXPIRATION CWE-613

Affected products do not correctly invalidate user sessions upon user logout. This could allow a remote unauthenticated attacker, who has obtained the session token by other means, to re-use a legitimate user's session even after logout.

CVE-2025-40566 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

A CVSS v4 score has also been calculated for CVE-2025-40566. A base score of 8.7 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N).

3.3 BACKGROUND

  • CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Critical Manufacturing
  • COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
  • COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: Germany

3.4 RESEARCHER

Siemens reported this vulnerability to CISA.

4. MITIGATIONS

Siemens has released new versions for the affected products and recommends updating to the latest versions:

As a general security measure, Siemens recommends protecting network access to devices with appropriate mechanisms. To operate the devices in a protected IT environment, Siemens recommends configuring the environment according to Siemens' operational guidelines for industrial security and following recommendations in the product manuals.

Additional information on industrial security by Siemens can be found on the Siemens industrial security webpage

For more information see the associated Siemens security advisory SSA-339086 in HTML and CSAF.

CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of this vulnerability. CISA reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures.

CISA also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS webpage on cisa.gov. Several CISA products detailing cyber defense best practices are available for reading and download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies.

CISA encourages organizations to implement recommended cybersecurity strategies for proactive defense of ICS assets.

Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available on the ICS webpage at cisa.gov in the technical information paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B--Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies.

Organizations observing suspected malicious activity should follow established internal procedures and report findings to CISA for tracking and correlation against other incidents.

CISA also recommends users take the following measures to protect themselves from social engineering attacks:

No known public exploitation specifically targeting this vulnerability has been reported to CISA at this time.

5. UPDATE HISTORY

  • May 15, 2025: Initial Republication of Siemens ProductCERT SSA-339086

This product is provided subject to this Notification and this Privacy & Use policy.

Vendor

  • Siemens