Rtu500 FirmwareOperating system · Hitachienergy

CVE-2023-6711

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.0.15.0 / 12.2.12.0 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Vulnerability exists in SCI IEC 60870-5-104 and HCI IEC 60870-5-104 that affects the RTU500 series product versions listed below. Specially crafted messages sent to the mentioned components are not validated properly and can result in buffer overflow and as final consequence to a reboot of an RTU500 CMU.

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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in SCI IEC 60870-5-104 and HCI IEC 60870-5-104 components of RTU500 series. Specially crafted IEC 60870-5-104 protocol messages lack proper input validation, causing overflow that results in CMU device reboot.

MitigationApply vendor-provided patches for RTU500 series. Until patched, implement network segmentation and traffic filtering for IEC 60870-5-104 traffic to reduce attack surface.

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
Rtu500 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0.1.0, < 12.0.15.0>= 12.2.1.0, < 12.2.12.0>= 12.4.1.0, < 12.4.12.0>= 12.6.1.0, < 12.6.10.0>= 12.7.1.0, < 12.7.7.0>= 13.2.1.0, < 13.2.7.0>= 13.4.1.0, < 13.4.4.0= 13.5.1.0

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
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

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 RTU500 hardware model
    Locate the physical device or check system documentation for the Hitachi Energy RTU500 series model number (e.g., RTU500, CMU). This vulnerability affects only RTU500 series devices.
    Affected if Device is not an Hitachi Energy RTU500 series unit
  2. Determine firmware version
    Access the RTU500 management interface or use the vendor's configuration tool to retrieve the installed firmware version. Common methods include: web UI, CLI command 'show version', or management software.
    Affected if Firmware version does not fall within any of the affected ranges (12.0.1.0-12.0.14.x, 12.2.1.0-12.2.11.x, 12.4.1.0-12.4.11.x, 12.6.1.0-12.6.9.x, 12.7.1.0-12.7.6.x, 13.2.1.0-13.2.6.x, 13.4.1.0-13.4.3.x, or 13.5.1.0)
  3. Verify IEC 60870-5-104 protocol is enabled
    Check the RTU500 configuration for active IEC 60870-5-104 protocol instances. Access the protocol configuration section in the management interface or configuration file and confirm if SCI IEC 60870-5-104 or HCI IEC 60870-5-104 components are configured and enabled.
    Affected if IEC 60870-5-104 protocol (SCI or HCI) is not enabled on the device
  4. Inspect protocol listener configuration
    Review the network configuration to identify which IEC 60870-5-104 ports are listening. The vulnerability resides in the SCI (Serial Communication Interface) and HCI (Host Communication Interface) IEC 60870-5-104 components. Check if these services are exposed to network traffic.
    Affected if No IEC 60870-5-104 listeners are configured or the SCI/HCI components are disabled

Device is affected if it is an Hitachi Energy RTU500 with IEC 60870-5-104 (SCI or HCI) enabled and the firmware version matches one of the vulnerable ranges listed.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 12.0.15.0 / 12.2.12.0 / 12.4.12.0 or later
Fixed in 12.0.15.012.2.12.012.4.12.0
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-provided patches for RTU500 series. Until patched, implement network segmentation and traffic filtering for IEC 60870-5-104 traffic to reduce attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

Rtu500 Firmware 12.0.15.0, 12.2.12.0, 12.4.12.0, or 12.6.10.0 (depending on your current branch)

  1. Identify the current firmware version of the RTU500 CMU by checking the system configuration or firmware management interface
  2. Determine which firmware branch (12.0.x, 12.2.x, 12.4.x, or 12.6.x) is currently deployed
  3. Obtain the appropriate fixed firmware version from Hitachi Energy based on the installed branch: 12.0.15.0 or later for 12.0.x branch; 12.2.12.0 or later for 12.2.x branch; 12.4.12.0 or later for 12.4.x branch; 12.6.10.0 or later for 12.6.x branch
  4. Review Hitachi Energy firmware upgrade documentation and release notes for any specific upgrade procedures
  5. Back up current configuration according to RTU500 backup procedures before initiating upgrade
  6. Apply firmware upgrade via the standard RTU500 firmware update mechanism
  7. Verify the upgrade was successful and the new firmware version is running
  8. Confirm the vulnerability is remediated by ensuring the fixed version is properly installed
Caveat Firmware upgrades may require testing in a staging environment to ensure compatibility with integrated systems; review release notes for any changes to IEC 60870-5-104 protocol handling

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Rtu500 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2023-6711 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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