CVE-2025-23403
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 IPC DiagBase (All versions), SIMATIC IPC DiagMonitor (All versions). The affected device do not properly restrict the user permission for the registry key. This could allow an authenticated attacker to load vulnerable drivers into the system leading to privilege escalation or bypassing endpoint protection and other security measures.
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 confidenceThis vulnerability involves improper permission restrictions on Windows registry keys in SIMATIC IPC DiagBase and DiagMonitor software. Authenticated users can modify registry keys that control driver loading, allowing them to load vulnerable or malicious drivers and achieve SYSTEM-level privilege escalation while bypassing endpoint protection.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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 if SIMATIC IPC DiagBase or DiagMonitor is installedOpen Windows Settings > Apps > Installed apps, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | DisplayName' in PowerShell. Look for entries containing 'DiagBase' or 'DiagMonitor'.Affected if Either DiagBase or DiagMonitor software is present on the system
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Locate driver loading registry keys used by the softwareExamine registry keys under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services and HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens for entries related to DiagBase or DiagMonitor drivers. Keys controlling 'Start' type or 'ImagePath' values are relevant.Affected if Registry keys controlling driver loading exist for DiagBase or DiagMonitor components
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Check registry key permissions for driver control keysRight-click the identified registry key in regedit, select Permissions, or run 'Get-Acl HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\<DriverName> | Format-List' in PowerShell. Verify which users have Write or Full Control permissions.Affected if Non-administrative users (Authenticated Users, Users group, or specific user accounts) have Write or Full Control access to driver control registry keys
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Verify if low-privileged users can modify driver configurationUsing a standard (non-admin) user account, attempt to modify a known driver registry key value (e.g., change the Start value or ImagePath), or use 'reg add' command under a limited user context to test write access.Affected if A standard user account can successfully modify registry values that control driver loading behavior
If SIMATIC IPC DiagBase or DiagMonitor is installed AND non-administrative users have Write permissions to registry keys controlling driver loading, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2025-23403.
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.
From vendor dataRestrict registry key permissions to administrative-only access for keys controlling driver loading, and apply any vendor-provided patches for DiagBase and DiagMonitor.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-23403 — 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-2025-23403 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
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