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Full vulnerability report · 2019
CVE-2019-8259High confidence

UltraVNC revision 1198 contains multiple memory leaks (CWE-655) in VNC client code, which allow an attacker to read stack memory and can be abused for information disclosure

UltraVNC · UltraVNC

7.5HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Within 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Patch available
Direct vendor intelligence

Authoritative vendor CSAF and VEX advisories

Structured product status and remediation from the issuing vendor. Product-state explanations are always visible; large lists can be searched or downloaded.

1 current
SSA-940818 · CSAF 2.0 · revision 1 · finalSiemens ProductCERTSSA-940818: UltraVNC Vulnerabilities in SIMATIC HMIs/WinCC Products
4 known affected

The vendor explicitly identifies these products as affected by this CVE.

  • SIMATIC HMI Comfort Outdoor Panels 7" & 15" (incl. SIPLUS variants)
  • SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panels 4" - 22" (incl. SIPLUS variants)
  • SIMATIC HMI KTP Mobile Panels KTP400F, KTP700, KTP700F, KTP900 and KTP900F
  • SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Advanced
Summary
UltraVNC revision 1198 contains multiple memory leaks in VNC client code, which could allow an attacker to read stack memory and can be abused for information disclosure. Combined with another vulnerability, it can be used to leak stack memory and bypass ASLR. This vulnerability appears to be exploitable via network connectivity. These vulnerabilities have been fixed in revision 1199.
Remediation
Update SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) to V16 Update 4 or later version, and then update panel to V16 Update 4 or later version
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Select the national-authority views to include. The exact source language is shown on each matched advisory. Your choice is remembered on this device and encoded in the shareable URL.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2019-17657

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionWithin 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Patch available
01

What, why and how

UltraVNC revision 1198 contains multiple memory leaks (CWE-655) in VNC client code, which allow an attacker to read stack memory and can be abused for information disclosure. Combined with another vulnerability, it can be used to leak stack memory and bypass ASLR. This attack appears to be exploitable via network connectivity. These vulnerabilities have been fixed in revision 1199.

What

UltraVNC revision 1198 contains multiple memory leaks (CWE-655) in VNC client code, which allow an attacker to read stack memory and can be abused for information disclosure. Combined with another vulnerability, it can be used to leak stack memory and bypass ASLR. This attack appears to be exploitable via network connectivity. These vulnerabilities have been fixed in revision 1199.

Why

The product does not initialize or incorrectly initializes a resource, which might leave the resource in an unexpected state when it is accessed or used.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may obtain information outside the intended access boundary.

What

UltraVNC revision 1198 contains multiple memory leaks (CWE-655) in VNC client code, which allow an attacker to read stack memory and can be abused for information disclosure. Combined with another vulnerability, it can be used to leak stack memory and bypass ASLR. This attack appears to be exploitable via network connectivity. These vulnerabilities have been fixed in revision 1199.

Why

The product does not initialize or incorrectly initializes a resource, which might leave the resource in an unexpected state when it is accessed or used.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may obtain information outside the intended access boundary.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → Improper Initialization → obtain information outside the intended access boundary
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-665 ↗

CWE-665: Improper Initialization. The product does not initialize or incorrectly initializes a resource, which might leave the resource in an unexpected state when it is accessed or used.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.INoneIntegrity impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.ANoneAvailability impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
NetworkUnauthenticatedCWE-665
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Patch available
Affected
SIMATIC HMI Comfort Outdoor Panels 7" & 15" (incl. SIPLUS variants); SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panels 4" - 22" (incl. SIPLUS variants); SIMATIC HMI KTP Mobile Panels KTP400F, KTP700, KTP700F, KTP900 and KTP900F; SIMATIC WinCC Runtime Advanced
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
Update SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) to V16 Update 4 or later version, and then update panel to V16 Update 4 or later version
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 5 Mar 2019 · Last source change 16 Sept 2024, 20:59 UTC · CWE-665 · Improper Initialization

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-09-01
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2019-17657
Product sourceVendor CSAF · Siemens ProductCERT
Remediation sourceVendor CSAF · Siemens ProductCERT
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates →
  1. ENISA EUVD mappingEUVD-2019-17657 was added to the official ENISA EUVD mapping for this CVE.
    Before
    not recorded
    After
    {"euvdId":"EUVD-2019-17657"}
    ENISA EUVD ↗
  2. SeveritySeverity changed from Unknown to High.
    Before
    Unknown
    After
    High
    NIST NVD ↗
  3. CVSS scoreCVSS score changed from not recorded to 7.5 (CVSS 3.1 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).
    Before
    not recorded
    After
    7.5 (CVSS 3.1 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N)
    NIST NVD ↗
  4. Catalogue recordCVE added to the BlackTree catalogue.
    CNA ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2019-17657↗Vendor CSAF · Siemens ProductCERT↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
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