Simatic Pcs 7Application · Siemens

CVE-2020-7586

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-06-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4 / 5.6 or later.
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
A vulnerability has been identified in SIMATIC PCS 7 V8.2 and earlier (All versions), SIMATIC PCS 7 V9.0 (All versions < V9.0 SP3), SIMATIC PDM (All versions < V9.2), SIMATIC STEP 7 V5.X (All versions < V5.6 SP2 HF3), SINAMICS STARTER (containing STEP 7 OEM version) (All versions < V5.4 HF2). A buffer overflow vulnerability could allow a local attacker to cause a Denial-of-Service situation. The security vulnerability could be exploited by an attacker with local access to the affected systems. Successful exploitation requires user privileges but no user interaction. The vulnerability could allow an attacker to compromise the availability of the system as well as to have access to confidential information.

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

A buffer overflow vulnerability in multiple Siemens SIMATIC industrial control software products (STEP 7, PCS 7, PDM, SINAMICS STARTER) allows a local attacker with user privileges to cause denial of service and potentially gain access to confidential information. The vulnerability requires local access but no user interaction.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches/updates to the affected Siemens software versions: PCS 7 upgrade to V9.0 SP3 or later, PDM upgrade to V9.2 or later, STEP 7 upgrade to V5.6 SP2 HF3 or later, and SINAMICS STARTER upgrade to V5.4 HF2 or later.

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 Process Device ManagerApplication
Affected:all versions
Simatic Step 7Application
Affected:< 5.6= 5.6
Sinamics StarterApplication
Affected:< 5.4= 5.4

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:3.1/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 installed Siemens industrial software
    Check the system for installed Siemens SIMATIC software products. Look for STEP 7, PCS 7, PDM, or SINAMICS STARTER in the Windows Programs and Features list or installation directories.
    Affected if Any of these four products are installed on the system
  2. Check STEP 7 version
    Open STEP 7 (TIA Portal or classic) and navigate to Help > About, or check the program's file properties. Alternatively, check the installation folder for version information.
    Affected if The installed version is 5.6 or any version below 5.6
  3. Check SINAMICS Starter version
    Open SINAMICS Starter and navigate to Help > About, or right-click the application executable and view Properties for version details.
    Affected if The installed version is 5.4 or any version below 5.4
  4. Check PCS 7 version
    Open PCS 7 and navigate to Help > About, or check the installation directory for version files.
    Affected if PCS 7 is installed regardless of version (all versions are affected)
  5. Check PDM version
    Open Process Device Manager and navigate to Help > About, or check the installation directory for version files.
    Affected if PDM is installed regardless of version (all versions are affected)

The environment is affected if any of STEP 7 (version 5.6 or lower), SINAMICS Starter (version 5.4 or lower), PCS 7 (any installed version), or PDM (any installed version) is present on the system.

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 5.4 / 5.6 or later
Fixed in 5.45.6
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches/updates to the affected Siemens software versions: PCS 7 upgrade to V9.0 SP3 or later, PDM upgrade to V9.2 or later, STEP 7 upgrade to V5.6 SP2 HF3 or later, and SINAMICS STARTER upgrade to V5.4 HF2 or later.

Fix this in Simatic Pcs 7 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,480
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,568.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2020-7586 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