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Simatic Pcs 7Application · Siemens

CVE-2020-10048

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-02-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.5 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 PCS 7 (All versions), SIMATIC WinCC (All versions < V7.5 SP2). Due to an insecure password verification process, an attacker could bypass the password protection set on protected files, thus being granted access to the protected content, circumventing authentication.

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

The vulnerability in SIMATIC PCS 7 (all versions) and SIMATIC WinCC (versions prior to V7.5 SP2) allows attackers to bypass password protection on protected files through an insecure password verification process. This enables unauthorized access to sensitive content protected within these industrial control system software platforms.

MitigationUpgrade SIMATIC WinCC to version V7.5 SP2 or later. For SIMATIC PCS 7, apply vendor-supplied patches or mitigations as the description indicates all versions are affected.

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 Pcs 7Application
Affected:all versions
Simatic WinccApplication
Affected:< 7.5= 7.5

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 installed SIMATIC product
    Determine whether Siemens SIMATIC WinCC or SIMATIC PCS 7 is installed on the system by reviewing installed programs or program directories
    Affected if Either SIMATIC WinCC or SIMATIC PCS 7 is present on the system
  2. Check SIMATIC WinCC version
    Locate the WinCC installation and retrieve its version information, typically found in the program files or registry
    Affected if WinCC version is present and is either any version prior to V7.5 SP2 or exactly version 7.5 (without SP2)
  3. Confirm PCS 7 installation
    Verify SIMATIC PCS 7 installation status, noting that all versions are affected
    Affected if SIMATIC PCS 7 of any version is installed

The environment is affected if SIMATIC PCS 7 of any version is present, or if SIMATIC WinCC is installed with a version earlier than V7.5 SP2 or exactly version 7.5.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.5 or later
Fixed in 7.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade SIMATIC WinCC to version V7.5 SP2 or later. For SIMATIC PCS 7, apply vendor-supplied patches or mitigations as the description indicates all versions are affected.

Fix this in Simatic Pcs 7 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.

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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-2020-10048 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
  • 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