CVE-2019-19278
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 SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 Drives MLFB 6SR32..-.....-.... MLFB 6SR4...-.....-.... MLFB 6SR5...-.....-.... With option A30 (HMIs 12 inches or larger) (All versions), SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 Drives MLFB 6SR325.-.....-.... (High Availability) (All versions). The affected device contains a vulnerability that could allow an unauthenticated attacker to restore the affected device to a point where predefined application and operating system protection mechanisms are not in place. Successful exploitation requires physical access to the system, but no system privileges and no user interaction. An attacker could use the vulnerability to compromise confidentialiy, integrity and availability of the device. At the time of advisory publication no public exploitation of this security 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 · moderate confidenceThe vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to restore the SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 drive to a state where predefined application and operating system protection mechanisms are not in place. This appears to be a factory reset or rollback mechanism that bypasses security controls, potentially allowing the attacker to compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability of 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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the device modelLocate the nameplate, serial number label, or management interface of the drive unit to confirm it is a Sinamics Perfect Harmony GH180 modelAffected if The device is confirmed to be a Siemens Sinamics Perfect Harmony GH180 drive
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Verify the device firmware versionAccess the drive's control unit or management interface (such as the Operator Panel or SINAMICS Startdrive) and retrieve the installed firmware version from the device diagnostics or system information menuAffected if Any firmware version is installed on a GH180 (all versions are affected)
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Inspect physical security of the reset mechanismExamine the physical enclosure, cabinet, or access panel where the drive is installed. Identify whether the reset/rollback function (factory reset capability) is accessible without requiring authentication or special access controls at the physical layerAffected if The reset or rollback function is accessible without authentication or can be triggered without proper access control at the physical level
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Check for protection mechanism bypass conditionsObserve whether the device can be restored to a factory or default state that disables or bypasses predefined application and operating system protection mechanisms. This may be documented in the device security manual or observed during a controlled reset test if physically safe and authorizedAffected if A factory reset or rollback operation can be performed that removes or bypasses security protections configured on the device
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Verify physical access controlsAssess whether the area containing the affected device is secured against unauthorized physical access. Check for locked cabinets, restricted access zones, or surveillance that would prevent an unauthenticated attacker from reaching the deviceAffected if The device is located in an area accessible to unauthorized personnel, allowing an attacker with physical access to reach the reset/rollback mechanism
A user is affected if they have a Siemens Sinamics Perfect Harmony GH180 drive where the physical reset or rollback mechanism can be accessed without authentication and bypasses security protections.
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.
From vendor dataRestrict physical access to the affected devices and implement additional physical security controls. Contact Siemens for a vendor patch or firmware update that addresses this protection mechanism bypass.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-19278 — 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-2019-19278 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
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- 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