​APSystems Altenergy Power Control

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• ​CVSS v3 9.8 ***​ATTENTION: **Exploitable remotely / low attack complexity / public exploits available
• ​Vendor: APSystems
• **​Equipment:**Altenergy Power Control
• **​Vulnerability:**OS Command Injection

2. RISK EVALUATION

​Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may allow remote code execution.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

​The following versions of Altenergy Power Control software are affected:

• ​Altenergy Power Control Software: C1.2.5

3.2 VULNERABILITY OVERVIEW

3.2.1 ​IMPROPER NEUTRALIZATION OF SPECIAL ELEMENTS USED IN AN OS COMMAND (‘OS COMMAND INJECTION’) CWE-78

​OS command injection affects Altenergy Power Control software C1.2.5 via shell metacharacters in the index.php/management/set_timezone timezone parameter, because of set_timezone in models/management_model.php.

​CVE-2023-28343 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 has been calculated. The CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

3.3 BACKGROUND

• ​CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Energy
• **​COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED:**Worldwide
• **​COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION:**United States

3.4 RESEARCHER

​CISA discovered public proof of concept as authored by Ahmed Alroky and superzerosec.

4. MITIGATIONS

​APSystems has not responded to requests to work with CISA to mitigate this vulnerability. Users of the affected product are encouraged to contact APSystems support for additional information.

​CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of this vulnerability. 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.