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XML External Entity (XXE)Weakness · CWE-611

CVE-2025-40584

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 has been identified in SIMOTION SCOUT TIA V5.4 (All versions), SIMOTION SCOUT TIA V5.5 (All versions), SIMOTION SCOUT TIA V5.6 (All versions < V5.6 SP1 HF7), SIMOTION SCOUT TIA V5.7 (All versions < V5.7 SP1 HF1), SIMOTION SCOUT V5.4 (All versions), SIMOTION SCOUT V5.5 (All versions), SIMOTION SCOUT V5.6 (All versions < V5.6 SP1 HF7), SIMOTION SCOUT V5.7 (All versions < V5.7 SP1 HF1), SINAMICS STARTER V5.5 (All versions), SINAMICS STARTER V5.6 (All versions), SINAMICS STARTER V5.7 (All versions < V5.7 HF2). The affected application contains a XML External Entity Injection (XXE) vulnerability while parsing specially crafted XML files. This could allow an attacker to read arbitrary files in the system.

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 · high confidence

The vulnerability is an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) flaw in SIMOTION SCOUT and SINAMICS STARTER applications. When parsing specially crafted XML files, the software does not properly disable external entity processing, allowing an attacker to inject malicious XML that references external entities to read arbitrary files from the system filesystem.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches to reach the fixed versions: SIMOTION SCOUT TIA/SCOUT V5.6 SP1 HF7, V5.7 SP1 HF1 or later; SINAMICS STARTER V5.7 HF2 or later. As a compensating control, disable external entity processing in XML parsers or validate XML input before parsing.

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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 installed product
    Locate SIMOTION SCOUT or SINAMICS STARTER installation directory and check for the executable or version information file. Common locations: C:\Program Files\Siemens\SIMOTION SCOUT or C:\Program Files\Siemens\SINAMICS STARTER
    Affected if Either SIMOTION SCOUT or SINAMICS STARTER software is installed
  2. Determine SIMOTION SCOUT version
    Open the application, go to Help > About, or check the file version of Scout.exe in the installation folder. Look for version string like V5.6 SP1, V5.7, etc.
    Affected if Version is earlier than V5.6 SP1 HF7 or earlier than V5.7 SP1 HF1
  3. Determine SINAMICS STARTER version
    Open the application, go to Help > About, or check the file version of Starter.exe in the installation folder. Look for version string like V5.7 HF1, V5.7 HF2, etc.
    Affected if Version is earlier than V5.7 HF2
  4. Assess XML usage exposure
    Review whether the software is used to import, open, or parse XML project files, configurations, or data files from external or untrusted sources
    Affected if XML files from external or untrusted sources are parsed by the software

The environment is affected if SIMOTION SCOUT version is before V5.6 SP1 HF7 or V5.7 SP1 HF1, or SINAMICS STARTER version is before V5.7 HF2, and the software parses XML files from external sources.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches to reach the fixed versions: SIMOTION SCOUT TIA/SCOUT V5.6 SP1 HF7, V5.7 SP1 HF1 or later; SINAMICS STARTER V5.7 HF2 or later. As a compensating control, disable external entity processing in XML parsers or validate XML input before parsing.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the vendor-specified fixed releases: SIMOTION SCOUT/SINAMICS STARTER V5.6 -> V5.6 SP1 HF7, V5.7 -> V5.7 SP1 HF1 (TIA) / V5.7 HF2 (STARTER). Versions V5.4 and V5.5 have no fixed releases available.

  1. Identify the currently installed version of SIMOTION SCOUT TIA, SIMOTION SCOUT, or SINAMICS STARTER
  2. Determine which specific product and version is in use from the affected list
  3. For SIMOTION SCOUT TIA V5.6: Upgrade to V5.6 SP1 HF7 or later
  4. For SIMOTION SCOUT TIA V5.7: Upgrade to V5.7 SP1 HF1 or later
  5. For SIMOTION SCOUT V5.6: Upgrade to V5.6 SP1 HF7 or later
  6. For SIMOTION SCOUT V5.7: Upgrade to V5.7 SP1 HF1 or later
  7. For SINAMICS STARTER V5.7: Upgrade to V5.7 HF2 or later
  8. For versions V5.4 and V5.5 of all products (which have no fix): Contact Siemens for alternative mitigation or migration options
Caveat Hotfixes typically do not introduce breaking changes, but test in non-production environment before deployment. V5.4 and V5.5 have no path to a fixed release per the advisory.

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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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-2025-40584 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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