dbcve.org
Simatic Wincc Open ArchitectureOperating system · Siemens

CVE-2018-13799

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-09-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.14 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
A vulnerability has been identified in SIMATIC WinCC OA V3.14 and prior (All versions < V3.14-P021). Improper access control to a data point of the affected product could allow an unauthenticated remote user to escalate its privileges in the context of SIMATIC WinCC OA V3.14. This vulnerability could be exploited by an attacker with network access to port 5678/TCP of the SIMATIC WinCC OA V3.14 server. Successful exploitation requires no user privileges and no user interaction. This vulnerability could allow an attacker to compromise integrity and availability of the SIMATIC WinCC OA system. At the time of advisory publication no public exploitation of this vulnerability was known.

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 · high confidence

Improper access control vulnerability in SIMATIC WinCC OA versions prior to V3.14-P021 allows unauthenticated remote attackers to escalate privileges through unauthorized data point access via port 5678/TCP, potentially compromising system integrity and availability.

MitigationUpgrade to SIMATIC WinCC OA V3.14-P021 or later. Apply network segmentation to restrict access to port 5678/TCP and implement additional access controls on data points.

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
Simatic Wincc Open ArchitectureOperating system
Affected:<= 3.14

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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. Verify if SIMATIC WinCC OA is installed
    Check for WinCC OA installation directories or installed software listings on the system
    Affected if SIMATIC WinCC OA is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed WinCC OA version
    Locate the version information for the WinCC OA installation, typically found in product documentation, installation logs, or the application itself, then compare to V3.14-P021
    Affected if The installed version is prior to V3.14-P021
  3. Check if port 5678/TCP is accessible
    Scan the system or review firewall/network configurations to determine if port 5678/TCP is open and reachable
    Affected if Port 5678/TCP is open and accessible from network locations where untrusted users could connect
  4. Verify access control configuration on data points
    Review the WinCC OA access control settings and data point configurations to determine if unauthenticated or low-privilege access is restricted
    Affected if Data points are accessible without proper authentication or authorization controls are not enforced

A user is affected if SIMATIC WinCC OA versions prior to V3.14-P021 are installed with port 5678/TCP accessible and inadequate access controls on data points.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 3.14
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to SIMATIC WinCC OA V3.14-P021 or later. Apply network segmentation to restrict access to port 5678/TCP and implement additional access controls on data points.

Recommended fix High confidence

V3.14-P021 or later

  1. Verify the current Simatic WinCC OA version by checking the installation or using system information utilities
  2. Backup all project data, configurations, and databases before performing the upgrade
  3. Download Simatic WinCC OA V3.14-P021 or later from the official Siemens support portal (cert-portal.siemens.com)
  4. Stop all WinCC OA services and related processes on the server
  5. Install the upgrade following Siemens installation documentation for your deployment type
  6. Restart WinCC OA services and verify the system starts correctly
  7. Validate that the data point access control vulnerability is resolved by confirming proper authentication is required for privilege escalation
  8. Test critical applications and integrations to ensure normal operation

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Simatic Wincc Open Architecture Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,320.

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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-2018-13799 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data