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Rtu520 FirmwareOperating system · Hitachienergy

CVE-2023-5768

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 13.4.3 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 exists in the HCI IEC 60870-5-104 that affects the RTU500 series product versions listed below. Incomplete or wrong received APDU frame layout may cause blocking on link layer. Error reason was an endless blocking when reading incoming frames on link layer with wrong length information of APDU or delayed reception of data octets. Only communication link of affected HCI IEC 60870-5-104 is blocked. If attack sequence stops the communication to the previously attacked link gets normal again.

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 vulnerability in the HCI IEC 60870-5-104 protocol implementation in RTU500 series products allows malformed APDU frames with incorrect length information to cause blocking on the link layer. This leads to an endless blocking condition when reading incoming frames, causing denial of service on the affected communication link.

MitigationImplement proper input validation and length checking on incoming APDU frames to prevent blocking; add timeout mechanisms and frame rejection logic for malformed frames.

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
Rtu520 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0.1, <= 12.0.14>= 12.2.1, <= 12.2.11>= 12.4.1, <= 12.4.11>= 12.6.1, <= 12.6.9>= 12.7.1, <= 12.7.6>= 13.2.1, <= 13.2.6>= 13.4.1, <= 13.4.3
Rtu530 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0.1, <= 12.0.14>= 12.2.1, <= 12.2.11>= 12.4.1, <= 12.4.11>= 12.6.1, <= 12.6.9>= 12.7.1, <= 12.7.6>= 13.2.1, <= 13.2.6>= 13.4.1, <= 13.4.3
Rtu540 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0.1, <= 12.0.14>= 12.2.1, <= 12.2.11>= 12.4.1, <= 12.4.11>= 12.6.1, <= 12.6.9>= 12.7.1, <= 12.7.6>= 13.2.1, <= 13.2.6>= 13.4.1, <= 13.4.3
Rtu560 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0.1, <= 12.0.14>= 12.2.1, <= 12.2.11>= 12.4.1, <= 12.4.11>= 12.6.1, <= 12.6.9>= 12.7.1, <= 12.7.6>= 13.2.1, <= 13.2.6>= 13.4.1, <= 13.4.3

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 the RTU model
    Check the product nameplate, web interface, or management console to confirm the device is an RTU520, RTU530, RTU540, or RTU560 from Hitachi Energy.
    Affected if The device is not one of these four RTU500 series models.
  2. Determine the firmware version
    Access the device firmware information through the web interface, management console, or SNMP. Look for a version field labeled 'Firmware' or 'Software Version'.
    Affected if The installed firmware version falls within any of these ranges: 12.0.1-12.0.14, 12.2.1-12.2.11, 12.4.1-12.4.11, 12.6.1-12.6.9, 12.7.1-12.7.6, 13.2.1-13.2.6, or 13.4.1-13.4.3.
  3. Check if IEC 60870-5-104 protocol is enabled
    Review the protocol configuration in the RTU management interface. Look for IEC 60870-5-104 (also labeled as IEC 104 or HCI 104) in the enabled protocols or communication channels list.
    Affected if The IEC 60870-5-104 protocol is enabled and configured for communication on the affected device.
  4. Verify the link layer behavior
    Monitor the communication link for signs of blocking or hang conditions. Check if incoming IEC 104 frames with malformed APDU headers (incorrect length field) cause the link to stop responding. Review system logs for errors related to APDU parsing or link layer timeouts.
    Affected if The link enters a persistent blocking state when receiving IEC 104 frames with incorrect APDU length information.

The environment is affected if the device is an RTU520/530/540/560 with a firmware version in the listed ranges and IEC 60870-5-104 protocol is enabled.

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 a release after 13.4.3
Interim mitigation

Implement proper input validation and length checking on incoming APDU frames to prevent blocking; add timeout mechanisms and frame rejection logic for malformed frames.

Fix this in Rtu520 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,880
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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-2023-5768 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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