CVE-2023-44373
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 · uneditedAffected devices do not properly sanitize an input field. This could allow an authenticated remote attacker with administrative privileges to inject code or spawn a system root shell. Follow-up of CVE-2022-36323.
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 confidenceAffected devices have an input validation vulnerability where certain input fields are not properly sanitized. An authenticated attacker with administrative privileges can exploit this to inject arbitrary code or spawn a system root shell. This is a follow-up to CVE-2022-36323, indicating a recurring or similar input handling flaw.
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< 4.5< 4.5< 4.5< 4.5<= 4.5< 4.5< 4.5< 4.5CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/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 modelAccess the device management interface or use SNMP/network discovery to confirm the exact model number (e.g., 6gk5205 3bb00 2ab2)Affected if The model matches any of the affected variants: 6gk5205 or 6gk5208 with specific product codes (3bb00, 3bd00, 3bf00, 0ba00) and suffixes (2ab2 or 2tb2)
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Determine the firmware versionLog into the device web interface or CLI and check the firmware/software version in the system information or status sectionAffected if Firmware version is below 4.5 (or 4.5 or below for 6gk5205 3bf00 2tb2)
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Verify administrative access is enabledCheck if local or remote administrative accounts are configured and accessible on the deviceAffected if Administrative authentication is enabled and attacker could obtain admin-level credentials
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Identify vulnerable input fieldsExamine administrative configuration menus, network settings, or diagnostic interfaces where user-supplied input is acceptedAffected if Input fields that lack proper sanitization are present and accessible to authenticated administrators
The environment is affected if the device is one of the listed Siemens 6gk5205/6gk5208 models running firmware below version 4.5 and administrative access is configured, allowing injection via unsanitized input fields.
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.
dbcve · scoped4.5
Implement proper input sanitization and validation on all user-supplied input fields, particularly those accessible to authenticated administrators. Apply vendor patches when available.
Firmware version 4.5 or higher for the affected 6gk5205 and 6gk5208 device variants
- 1. Identify the exact device model from the affected product list (6gk5205 or 6gk5208 series variants)
- 2. Access the device administrative interface and navigate to the firmware information section to confirm current firmware version is below 4.5
- 3. Navigate to Siemens CERT portal (cert-portal.siemens.com) and locate the security advisory for CVE-2023-44373
- 4. Download the firmware update package for your specific device model (fixed version: 4.5 or higher)
- 5. Log into the device as an administrator
- 6. Navigate to Firmware Update or System > Software Update in the web interface
- 7. Upload and apply the downloaded firmware file
- 8. After the device reboots, verify the firmware version has been updated to 4.5 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-44373 — 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-2023-44373 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
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