Control By Web X-400, X-600M

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• CVSS v3 9.1 *ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low attack complexity
• Vendor: Control By Web
• Equipment: X-400, X-600M
• Vulnerabilities: Cross-Site Scripting, Code Injection

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to inject malicious JavaScript and execute arbitrary code remotely, which could result in a loss of sensitive information.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

The following versions of Control By Web X-400 and X-600M, web enabled I/O Controllers, are affected:

• X-400: All firmware versions prior to 2.8
• X-600M: All firmware versions prior to 1.16.00

3.2 VULNERABILITY OVERVIEW

3.2.1 IMPROPER NEUTRALIZATION OF INPUT DURING WEB PAGE GENERATION (‘CROSS-SITE SCRIPTING’) CWE-79

Control By Web X-400 devices are vulnerable to a cross-site scripting attack, which could result in private and session information being transferred to the attacker.

CVE-2023-23553 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 4.5 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

3.2.2 IMPROPER CONTROL OF GENERATION OF CODE (‘CODE INJECTION’) CWE-94

Control By Web X-600M devices run Lua scripts and are vulnerable to code injection, which could allow an attacker to remotely execute arbitrary code.

CVE-2023-23551 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 9.1 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).

3.3 BACKGROUND

• CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Multiple Sectors
• COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
• COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: United States

3.4 RESEARCHER

Floris Hendriks and Jeroen Wijenbergh of Radboud University reported these vulnerabilities to Control By Web.

4. MITIGATIONS

Control By Web has provided a fix and recommends applying the updates for the following products:

• X-400: Update to firmware v2.8 or later
• X-600M: Update firmware to v1.16.00 or later

For assistance, contact technical support for questions or to obtain the correct firmware version for a specific unit.

Control By Web recommends the following to reduce the risk of exploitation:

• Use a secure administrator password.
• Do not use the default password.

CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of this vulnerability these vulnerabilities. Specifically, users should:

• Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, and ensure they are not accessible from the Internet.
• Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls and isolate them from business networks.
• When remote access is required, use secure methods, such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), recognizing VPNs may have vulnerabilities and should be updated to the most current version available. Also recognize VPN is only as secure as its connected devices.

CISA reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures.

CISA also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS webpage at cisa.gov/ics. Several CISA products detailing cyber defense best 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 webpage at cisa.gov/ics in the technical information paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B–Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies.

Organizations observing suspected malicious activity should follow established internal procedures and report findings to CISA for tracking and correlation against other incidents.

CISA also recommends users take the following measures to protect themselves from social engineering attacks:

• Do not click web links or open attachments in unsolicited email messages.
• Refer to Recognizing and Avoiding Email Scams for more information on avoiding email scams.
• Refer to Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks for more information on social engineering attacks.

No known public exploits specifically target these vulnerabilities.