Simatic S7 PlcsimApplication · Siemens

CVE-2021-25675

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-03-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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 S7-PLCSIM V5.4 (All versions). An attacker with local access to the system could cause a Denial-of-Service condition in the application when it is used to open a specially crafted file. As a consequence, a divide by zero operation could occur and cause the application to terminate unexpectedly and must be restarted to restore the service.

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 divide-by-zero vulnerability exists in SIMATIC S7-PLCSIM V5.4 where opening a specially crafted file triggers the condition, causing the application to crash. The attacker requires local access to the system, making this a local denial-of-service vector rather than remote.

MitigationUntil a vendor patch is released, restrict local access to the system and train users to avoid opening files from untrusted sources. Consider isolating the affected system or implementing application whitelisting to reduce exposure.

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 S7 PlcsimApplication
Affected:= 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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Confirm SIMATIC S7-PLCSIM installation
    Check if Siemens SIMATIC S7-PLCSIM is installed on the system by reviewing installed programs in Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or by searching for 'S7-PLCSIM' in the Start menu or program directories.
    Affected if The application is not installed on the system.
  2. Identify installed version number
    Locate the installed version by right-clicking the S7-PLCSIM executable (typically found in the Siemens installation directory, such as C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\S7-PLCSIM or similar), selecting Properties, and reviewing the Details tab for the Version information. Alternatively, open S7-PLCSIM and check the Help > About menu for the exact version number.
    Affected if The displayed version is exactly 5.4 (the only affected version per vendor advisory).
  3. Verify file association handling
    Review the system's file associations for project or simulation files related to S7-PLCSIM (common extensions include .s7p, .sim, or PLC-specific project files). Check if the application is configured to automatically open files upon double-click.
    Affected if S7-PLCSIM is installed at version 5.4 and handles file associations for the affected file types.

The system is vulnerable if SIMATIC S7-PLCSIM version 5.4 is installed, since this version contains the divide-by-zero flaw when processing specially crafted files.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Until a vendor patch is released, restrict local access to the system and train users to avoid opening files from untrusted sources. Consider isolating the affected system or implementing application whitelisting to reduce exposure.

Fix this in Simatic S7 Plcsim Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2021-25675 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
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