Full Report
Siemens SINEC NMS before V4.0 is affected by multiple vulnerabilities which could allow an attacker to elevate privilege and exceute arbitrary code. Siemens has released a new version for SINEC NMS and recommends to update to the latest version. Siemens is preparing further fix versions and recommends countermeasures for products where fixes are not, or not yet available.
Analysis Summary
# Vulnerability: Multiple Vulnerabilities in Siemens SINEC NMS
## CVE Details
- **CVE ID:** CVE-2025-40735, CVE-2025-40736, CVE-2025-40737, CVE-2025-40738
- **CVSS Score:**
- CVE-2025-40736: **9.8 (Critical)** (v3.1) / 9.3 (v4.0)
- CVE-2025-40735, CVE-2025-40737, CVE-2025-40738: **8.8 (High)** (v3.1) / 8.7 (v4.0)
- **CWE:** CWE-89 (SQL Injection), CWE-306 (Missing Authentication), CWE-22 (Path Traversal)
## Affected Systems
- **Products:** SINEC NMS (Network Management System)
- **Versions:** All versions prior to V4.0
- **Configurations:** Default installations used for central monitoring, management, and configuration of industrial networks.
## Vulnerability Description
SINEC NMS is affected by four distinct security flaws:
1. **Authentication Bypass (CVE-2025-40736):** An exposed endpoint lacks authentication, allowing an attacker to modify administrative credentials and reset the "superadmin" password.
2. **SQL Injection (CVE-2025-40735):** Improper neutralization of special elements in SQL commands allows remote authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary queries against the server database.
3. **Path Traversal/Zip Slip (CVE-2025-40737 & CVE-2025-40738):** The application fails to validate file paths when extracting uploaded ZIP archives. Attackers can leverage this to write files to restricted locations on the file system, leading to potential remote code execution with elevated privileges.
## Exploitation
- **Status:** Not currently reported as exploited in the wild; PoC details shared with ZDI.
- **Complexity:** Low
- **Attack Vector:** Network
## Impact
- **Confidentiality:** High (Full access to network management data and database contents)
- **Integrity:** High (Ability to reset admin passwords and overwrite system files)
- **Availability:** High (Potential for system takeover or service disruption)
## Remediation
### Patches
- Siemens recommends upgrading to **SINEC NMS V4.0** or later.
- Patch Link: hxxps[://]support[.]industry[.]siemens[.]com/cs/ww/en/view/109989514/
### Workarounds
- Protect network access to the SINEC NMS server using firewalls or VPNs.
- Isolate the management system within a protected IT/OT environment according to Siemens' operational guidelines.
- Restrict access to the web interface to trusted administrative hosts only.
## Detection
- **Indicators of Compromise:**
- Unauthorized changes to the "superadmin" account.
- Unexpected ZIP file upload activities in system logs.
- Unusual SQL syntax or errors logged by the database backend.
- **Detection methods and tools:**
- Monitor network traffic for unauthenticated calls to credential-management endpoints.
- Inspect file system for unexpected files created in application directories (potential Result of Path Traversal).
## References
- **Vendor Advisory:** hxxps[://]cert-portal[.]siemens[.]com/productcert/html/ssa-078892[.]html
- **Operational Guidelines:** hxxps[://]www[.]siemens[.]com/cert/operational-guidelines-industrial-security