VulnerabilityPublished 13 Jun 2023Updated 9 Dec 2025

CVE-2023-31238: Siemens SICAM P850 · Incorrect Permissions

Affects Siemens SICAM P850Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 36% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 13 Jun 2023
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Siemens SICAM P850	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Upgrade all affected Siemens SICAM P850, P855, and SICAM T devices to version 3.11 or later as soon as the patch becomes available from Siemens.
Until patches are applied, implement strict network segmentation to isolate SICAM devices from general IT networks and limit access to trusted administrators only.
Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all management interfaces to reduce the risk of session token misuse.
Monitor network traffic for unusual session token usage or repeated authentication failures that could indicate exploitation attempts.
Configure web application firewalls (WAFs) or intrusion detection systems (IDS) to detect and block suspicious cookie manipulation or session hijacking attempts.
Educate users and administrators about phishing and social engineering risks that could facilitate session token theft.
Regularly audit and review access permissions and session management policies on SICAM devices to ensure adherence to security best practices.

Description

CVE-2023-31238 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting multiple versions of Siemens SICAM P850 and related products prior to version 3.11. The issue stems from incorrect permission assignment related to cookie protection flags, allowing attackers who obtain a session token to impersonate legitimate users. Exploitation requires network access with low privileges and user interaction, and the vulnerability impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability to a limited extent. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild. European organizations using SICAM P850 devices, especially in critical infrastructure sectors like energy and utilities, are at risk. Mitigation involves upgrading to version 3.11 or later and implementing strict session management and network segmentation. Countries with significant Siemens industrial control system deployments, such as Germany, France, and the UK, are most likely affected.

Impact

European organizations operating Siemens SICAM P850 and related products in critical infrastructure sectors such as energy, utilities, and industrial automation face risks of unauthorized access and session hijacking. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to impersonate legitimate users, potentially leading to unauthorized control commands, data manipulation, or disruption of industrial processes. This could result in operational downtime, safety hazards, and regulatory non-compliance. Given the widespread deployment of Siemens industrial control systems in Europe, the impact could extend to national critical infrastructure, affecting grid stability and service continuity. Confidentiality breaches could expose sensitive operational data, while integrity and availability impacts could disrupt essential services. The medium severity score reflects moderate ease of exploitation but significant consequences if exploited.

Summary

CVE-2023-31238 identifies a vulnerability in Siemens SICAM P850 and related products (including SICAM P855 and SICAM T) in all versions prior to 3.11. The root cause is an incorrect permission assignment for critical resources, specifically the absence of cookie protection flags under default settings. Cookies lacking flags such as Secure, HttpOnly, or SameSite can be intercepted or manipulated by attackers who gain access to session tokens. This vulnerability falls under CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource). An attacker with network access and low privileges, requiring user interaction, can leverage a stolen session token to impersonate legitimate users, potentially gaining unauthorized access to the device’s management interface or control functions. The CVSS v3.1 score is 5.5 (medium), reflecting network attack vector, high attack complexity, low privileges required, and user interaction needed. The vulnerability affects confidentiality, integrity, and availability but with limited impact scope. No public exploits are known, but the risk is significant given the critical nature of SICAM devices in industrial control systems, especially in energy distribution and automation.

CWE-732Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product specifies permissions for a security-critical resource in a way that allows that resource to be read or modified by unintended actors.
Implementation
When using a critical resource such as a configuration file, check to see if the resource has insecure permissions (such as being modifiable by any regular user), and generate an error or even exit the software if there is a possibility that the resource could have been modified by an unauthorized party.
Architecture and Design
Divide the software into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully defining distinct user groups, privileges, and/or roles. Map these against data, functionality, and the related resources. Then set the permissions accordingly.
Architecture and Design · Operation · Sandbox or Jail
Run the code in a "jail" or similar sandbox environment that enforces strict boundaries between the process and the operating system. This may effectively restrict which files can be accessed in a particular directory or which commands can be executed by the software.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
REST Assessment (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V4.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLs (opens in a new tab)
Directory Indexing (opens in a new tab)
Using Malicious Files (opens in a new tab)
Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels (opens in a new tab)
Signing Malicious Code (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 16 Dec 2025, 11:44 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-732

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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