CVE-2018-13816
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 · uneditedA vulnerability has been identified in TIM 1531 IRC (All version < V2.0). The devices was missing proper authentication on port 102/tcp, although configured. Successful exploitation requires an attacker to be able to send packets to port 102/tcp of the affected device. No user interaction and no user privileges are required to exploit the vulnerability. 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 confidenceThe TIM 1531 IRC device fails to enforce authentication on port 102/tcp (S7comm protocol) even when authentication is configured in the device settings. This allows any network attacker who can reach port 102/tcp to send unauthenticated commands to the device.
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< 2.0CVSS 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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify the device modelQuery the device or review asset inventory to confirm the device is a Siemens TIM 1531 IRC. This may be done via SNMP, device web interface, or network scanning that reports device type.Affected if The device is confirmed to be a Siemens TIM 1531 IRC unit.
-
Determine the firmware versionAccess the device web interface, use Siemens management tools (e.g., TIA Portal, SIMATIC Manager), or query the device via S7comm to retrieve the firmware version. Compare the installed version against the affected range.Affected if The firmware version is below V2.0 (e.g., V1.x).
-
Verify port 102/tcp is exposedPerform a TCP port scan targeting port 102 on the device IP address (e.g., nmap -p 102 <target_ip>). Confirm the port is open and accepting connections.Affected if Port 102/tcp is open and reachable from an untrusted network segment.
-
Confirm S7comm protocol is enabledCheck the device configuration via its web interface or management software to verify that the S7comm protocol is enabled on the device. This is typically found under communication or protocol settings.Affected if S7comm protocol is enabled and port 102 is accessible.
The environment is affected if a Siemens TIM 1531 IRC device with firmware version below V2.0 has port 102/tcp (S7comm) exposed and the protocol is enabled, allowing unauthenticated access.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped2.0
Upgrade TIM 1531 IRC firmware to version V2.0 or later which remediates the authentication bypass. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement strict network segmentation and firewall rules to deny unauthorized access to port 102/tcp.
V2.0 or later
- Verify the current firmware version of the TIM 1531 IRC device through the device management interface or by accessing the device directly
- Confirm the device is running a version prior to V2.0
- Obtain the V2.0 firmware update from the official Siemens support portal (cert-portal.siemens.com)
- Backup the current device configuration before performing the upgrade
- Upload and install the V2.0 firmware update to the TIM 1531 IRC device following the manufacturer's upgrade procedure
- Verify the firmware version has been successfully updated to V2.0 or later
- Confirm that authentication is now properly enforced on port 102/tcp
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-13816 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-13816 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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