"Researchers Find Big Flaw in a Schneider Electric ICS System Popular in Building Systems, Utilities"
Researchers at a security firm called Armis discovered a vulnerability in Schneider Electric computer control systems which is popular in heating, air conditioning, and other building systems that could allow hackers to control them. The remote code execution vulnerability puts millions of devices at risk. The affected Modicon programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are also used widely in manufacturing, automation applications, and energy utilities. The researchers stated that the vulnerability could be used to deploy a variety of attacks, from launching ransomware to altering the commands to machinery. The vulnerability could also allow attackers to hijack a command that would leak a password hash from the device’s memory. Once they have that, they can authenticate its use and downgrade other security measures, ultimately gaining full control over the PLC. The attack requires network access, making it more challenging but not impossible to deploy in PLCs segmented from other systems, as is often the case in industrial settings. Armis first flagged the vulnerability to Schneider Electric in November. The company is still developing a patch and says it has collaborated with multiple researchers on the vulnerability.