CVE-2021-37205
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 SIMATIC Drive Controller family (All versions >= V2.9.2 < V2.9.4), SIMATIC ET 200SP Open Controller CPU 1515SP PC2 (incl. SIPLUS variants) (All versions >= V21.9 < V21.9.4), SIMATIC S7-1200 CPU family (incl. SIPLUS variants) (All versions >= V4.5.0 < V4.5.2), SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU family (incl. related ET200 CPUs and SIPLUS variants) (All versions >= V2.9.2 < V2.9.4), SIMATIC S7-1500 Software Controller (All versions >= V21.9 < V21.9.4), SIMATIC S7-PLCSIM Advanced (All versions >= V4.0 < V4.0 SP1), SIPLUS TIM 1531 IRC (All versions < V2.3.6), TIM 1531 IRC (All versions < V2.3.6). An unauthenticated attacker could cause a denial-of-service condition in a PLC when sending specially prepared packets over port 102/tcp. A restart of the affected device is needed to restore normal operations.
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 analysisAllocated memory is never released on some path, so a long-running service or a repeatedly triggered request steadily consumes memory until performance degrades or the process crashes. Attackers exploit it by simply driving the leaking path. Remediation is pairing every allocation with a release and using ownership patterns or tooling to catch what leaks.
General guidance for the memory leak class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →
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< 2.9.4< 2.9.4all versions< 4.0= 4.0>= 2.2all versions>= 4.5.0, < 4.5.2>= 4.5.0, < 4.5.2CVSS 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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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 · scoped2.9.44.04.5.2
Upgrade to firmware V2.9.4 (Drive Controller), V21.9.4 (ET 200SP Open Controller, S7-1500 Software Controller), V4.5.2 (S7-1200), V4.0 SP1 (PLCSIM Advanced), or V2.3.6 (TIM 1531 IRC) depending on the specific device
- 1. Identify the specific Siemens SIMATIC product model and current firmware version in your environment
- 2. Consult the Siemens security advisory (ssa-838121.pdf) to obtain the correct firmware version for your specific device
- 3. Download the appropriate firmware update from Siemens Industry Online Support
- 4. Follow Siemens instructions for firmware update procedures - typically via TIA Portal or web-based device management
- 5. After updating, verify the firmware version matches the fixed release (V2.9.4, V21.9.4, V4.5.2, V4.0 SP1, or V2.3.6 depending on product)
- 6. Restart the device as recommended and verify normal operation
- 7. Consider network segmentation to limit exposure to port 102/tcp as an additional defense-in-depth measure
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-37205 — 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-2021-37205 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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