Schneider Electric System Monitor Application in Harmony and Pro-face PS5000 Legacy Industrial PCs

Posted on Thursday January 30, 2025

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CVSS v3 9.8
ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low attack complexity
Vendor: Schneider Electric
Equipment: Harmony Industrial PC, Pro-face Industrial PC
Vulnerability: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to access sensitive information.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

Schneider Electric reports that the following products are affected:

System Monitor application in Harmony Industrial PC: All versions
System Monitor application in Pro-face Industrial PC: All versions

3.2 Vulnerability Overview

3.2.1 EXPOSURE OF SENSITIVE INFORMATION TO AN UNAUTHORIZED ACTOR CWE-200

An information exposure vulnerability exists that could cause exposure of credentials when attacker has access to application on network over HTTP.

CVE-2024-8884 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 has been assigned; the CVSS vector string is (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

3.3 BACKGROUND

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Commercial Facilities, Critical Manufacturing, Energy
COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: France

3.4 RESEARCHER

Schneider Electric CPCERT reported this vulnerability to CISA.

4. MITIGATIONS

Schneider Electric has identified the following specific workarounds and mitigations users can apply to reduce risk:

System Monitor application in Harmony Industrial PC: Users can uninstall System Monitor application using installer available for download.
System Monitor application in Pro-face Industrial PC: Customer can uninstall System Monitor application using installer available for download.

Schneider Electric strongly recommends the use of back-ups and evaluating the impact of these patches in a test and development environment or on an offline infrastructure. Please follow the steps described in the guideline attached as a .pdf in the downloaded uninstaller guide. Contact Schneider Electric's Customer Care Center if you need assistance.

If users choose not to apply the remediation provided above, they should immediately apply the following mitigations to reduce the risk of exploit:

Stop the system monitor if not required by turning off the services as specified in user guide:
- Harmony Industrial PC Series User Manual
- Pro-face PS5000 legacy industrial PC Series User Manual
Set up network segmentation and implement a firewall to block all unauthorized access to configured HTTP/HTTPS ports.

Schneider Electric strongly recommends the following industry cybersecurity best practices:

Locate control and safety system networks and remote devices behind firewalls and isolate them from the business network.
Install physical controls so no unauthorized personnel can access your industrial control and safety systems, components, peripheral equipment, and networks.
Place all controllers in locked cabinets and never leave them in the "Program" mode.
Never connect programming software to any network other than the network intended for that device.
Scan all methods of mobile data exchange with the isolated network such as CDs, USB drives, etc. before use in the terminals or any node connected to these networks.
Never allow mobile devices that have connected to any other network besides the intended network to connect to the safety or control networks without proper sanitation.
Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and systems and ensure that they are not accessible from the Internet.
When remote access is required, use secure methods, such as virtual private networks (VPNs). Recognize that VPNs may have vulnerabilities and should be updated to the most current version available. Also, understand that VPNs are only as secure as the connected devices.

For more information refer to the Schneider Electric Recommended Cybersecurity Best Practices document.

For more information refer to the Schneider Electric recommended cybersecurity best practices document and the associated Schneider Electric security notification SEVD-2024-282-07 in PDF and CSAF.

CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of this vulnerability. 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 on cisa.gov. 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.

CISA encourages organizations to implement recommended cybersecurity strategies for proactive defense of ICS assets.

Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available on the ICS webpage at cisa.gov 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.

No known public exploitation specifically targeting this vulnerability has been reported to CISA at this time.