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Sys600 FirmwareOperating system · Hitachienergy

CVE-2018-1168

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-02-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on vulnerable installations of ABB MicroSCADA 9.3 with FP 1-2-3. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the configuration of the access controls for the installed product files. The installation procedure leaves critical files open to manipulation by any authenticated user. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges to SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-5097.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

ABB MicroSCADA 9.3 installation leaves critical files with overly permissive access controls, allowing any authenticated user to modify them. An attacker with low-privileged access can manipulate these files to execute code at SYSTEM privilege level.

MitigationApply restricted file permissions to critical product files, restricting write access to administrators only. Verify the installation was performed with secure defaults or run a post-installation hardening script.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Sys600 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 9.0= 9.1= 9.1.5= 9.2= 9.4

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed Sys600 firmware version
    Check the product version through the system's about dialog, release notes, or version file in the installation directory. Common paths include C:\Program Files\ABB\MicroSCADA or C:\Program Files\Hitachi Energy\Sys600.
    Affected if The installed version matches 9.0, 9.1, 9.1.5, 9.2, or 9.4
  2. Locate the product installation directory
    Identify the root installation folder for ABB MicroSCADA or Hitachi Energy Sys600 on the system.
    Affected if The product is installed and the installation directory exists
  3. Examine file permissions on critical executable files
    Use icacls or PowerShell Get-Acl to inspect permissions on .exe, .dll, and .cfg files in the product directory. Look for entries granting write or modify access to Users, Authenticated Users, or Everyone groups.
    Affected if Non-administrator users have Write or Modify permissions on executable or configuration files in the product directory
  4. Check for world-writable scripts or configuration files
    Search for .bat, .cmd, .ps1, .xml, or .ini files in the installation directory and verify their access controls. Run: icacls "<install_dir>\*" /findstr "(W:M|W:D)" to find writable entries.
    Affected if Any script or configuration file is writable by standard authenticated users
  5. Verify if low-privilege users can modify startup or scheduled task files
    Check permissions on files referenced by scheduled tasks, startup folders, or service configurations associated with the product.
    Affected if Service configuration or startup files are modifiable by non-admin users

You are affected if the installed Sys600 firmware version is 9.0, 9.1, 9.1.5, 9.2, or 9.4 AND any critical product files are writable by authenticated non-administrator users.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply restricted file permissions to critical product files, restricting write access to administrators only. Verify the installation was performed with secure defaults or run a post-installation hardening script.

Fix this in Sys600 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-1168 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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