CVSS2
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
MEDIUM
Authentication
NONE
Confidentiality Impact
PARTIAL
Integrity Impact
PARTIAL
Availability Impact
PARTIAL
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
CVSS3
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact
HIGH
Integrity Impact
HIGH
Availability Impact
HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
AI Score
Confidence
High
EPSS
Percentile
39.8%
CVSS v3 9.6
ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/Low skill level to exploit
Vendor: Emerson
Equipment: DeltaV DCS Workstations
**Vulnerabilities:**Uncontrolled Search Path Element, Relative Path Traversal, Improper Privilege Management, Stack-Based Buffer Overflow
Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow arbitrary code execution, malware injection, or malware to spread to other workstations.
The following versions of DeltaV, a Distributed Control System (DCS), are affected:
3.2.1 UNCONTROLLED SEARCH PATH ELEMENT CWE-427
A specially crafted DLL file may be placed in the search path and loaded as an internal and valid DLL, which may allow arbitrary code execution.
CVE-2018-14797 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 8.2 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).
3.2.2 RELATIVE PATH TRAVERSAL CWE-23
Improper path validation may allow an attacker to replace executable files.
CVE-2018-14795 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 8.8 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
3.2.3 IMPROPER PRIVILEGE MANAGEMENT CWE-269
Non-administrative users are able to change executable and library files on the affected products.
CVE-2018-14791 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 8.2 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).
3.2.4 STACK-BASED BUFFER OVERFLOW CWE-121
An open communication port could be exploited to allow arbitrary code execution.
CVE-2018-14793 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 9.6 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).
**CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS:**Chemical, Energy
**COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED:**Worldwide
**COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION:**United States
Younes Dragoni and Alessandro Di Pinto of Nozomi Networks, Pavel Cheremushkin and Roland Sako of Kaspersky Lab, Ori Perez of CyberX, and Emerson discovered these vulnerabilities.
Emerson recommends users patch the affected products listed below:
Software patches are available to users with access to the Guardian Support Portal at <https://guardian.emersonprocess.com/>. Please refer to the Knowledge Base Article AK-1800- 0042 (DSN18003) for more information.
Vulnerabilities CVE-2018-14797, CVE-2018-14795, and CVE-2018-14791 cannot be exploited if application whitelisting is implemented since it would prevent files from being overwritten.
To limit exposure to these and other vulnerabilities, Emerson recommends deploying and configuring DeltaV systems and related components as described in the DeltaV Security Manual, which is available in Emersonβs Guardian Support Portal.
NCCIC recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of this vulnerability. Specifically, users should:
NCCIC reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures.
NCCIC also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS-CERT web page. Several recommended practices are available for reading and download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies.
Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available on the ICS-CERT website in the Technical Information Paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01BβTargeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies.
Organizations observing any suspected malicious activity should follow their established internal procedures and report their findings to NCCIC for tracking and correlation against other incidents.
No known public exploits specifically target these vulnerabilities.
web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2018-14791
web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2018-14793
web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2018-14795
web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2018-14797
cisasurvey.gov1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9n4TtB8uttUPaM6?product=https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-18-228-01
cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/121.html
cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/23.html
cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/269.html
cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/427.html
guardian.emersonprocess.com/
public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCISA/subscriber/new?topic_id=USDHSCISA_138
twitter.com/CISAgov
twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Emerson%20DeltaV%20DCS%20Workstations+https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-18-228-01
www.dhs.gov
www.dhs.gov/foia
www.dhs.gov/performance-financial-reports
www.facebook.com/CISA
www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-18-228-01&title=Emerson%20DeltaV%20DCS%20Workstations
www.first.org/cvss/calculator/3.0#CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
www.first.org/cvss/calculator/3.0#CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
www.first.org/cvss/calculator/3.0#CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
www.first.org/cvss/calculator/3.0#CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
www.instagram.com/cisagov
www.linkedin.com/company/cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency
www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-18-228-01
www.oig.dhs.gov/
www.usa.gov/
www.whitehouse.gov/
www.youtube.com/@cisagov
mailto:?subject=Emerson%20DeltaV%20DCS%20Workstations&body=www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-18-228-01
CVSS2
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
MEDIUM
Authentication
NONE
Confidentiality Impact
PARTIAL
Integrity Impact
PARTIAL
Availability Impact
PARTIAL
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
CVSS3
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact
HIGH
Integrity Impact
HIGH
Availability Impact
HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
AI Score
Confidence
High
EPSS
Percentile
39.8%