ICS Alert

Mitsubishi Electric Automation MC-WorX Suite Unsecure ActiveX Control

Last Revised
Alert Code
ICS-ALERT-13-259-01

Description

ICS-CERT is aware of a public report of an unsecure ActiveX Control vulnerability in the Mitsubishi Electric Automation MC-WorX Suite - IcoLaunch.dll with proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit code affecting Mitsubishi MC-WorX Suite, a supervisory control and data acquisition/human-machine interface (SCADA/HMI) product.

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SUMMARY

ICS-CERT is aware of a public report of an unsecure ActiveX Control vulnerability in the Mitsubishi Electric Automation MC-WorX Suite - IcoLaunch.dll with proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit code affecting Mitsubishi MC-WorX Suite, a supervisory control and data acquisition/human-machine interface (SCADA/HMI) product. According to this report, the PoC allows crafting a Login Client button, which when clicked by the victim can launch malicious code from a remote share. This report was released without coordination with either the vendor or ICS-CERT. ICS-CERT has notified the affected vendor of the report and has asked the vendor to confirm the vulnerability and identify mitigations. ICS-CERT is issuing this alert to provide early notice of the report and identify baseline mitigations for reducing risks to these and other cybersecurity attacks.

The report included vulnerability details and PoC exploit code for the following vulnerability:

Vulnerability Type Remotely Exploitable Impact
Insecure ActiveX control Yes Possible Remote Code Execution

Please report any issues affecting control systems in critical infrastructure environments to ICS‑CERT.

Follow-Up

ICS-CERT released a follow-up advisory ICSA-14-051-02 Mitsubishi Electric Automation MC-WorX Suite Unsecured ActiveX Control to the ICS-CERT Web site on February 20, 2014.

Mitigations

MITIGATION

ICS-CERT is currently coordinating with the vendor and security researcher to identify mitigations.

ICS-CERT recommends that users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of these vulnerabilities. Specifically, users should:

  • Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, and ensure that they are not accessible from the Internet.a
  • Locate control system networks and devices behind firewalls, and isolate them from the business network.
  • If remote access is required, employ secure methods, such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), recognizing that VPN is only as secure as the connected devices.

ICS‑CERT reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to taking defensive measures.

ICS-CERT also provides a recommended practices section for control systems on the US-CERT Web site. Several recommended practices are available for reading or download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies.b

Organizations that observe any suspected malicious activity should follow their established internal procedures and report their findings to ICS-CERT for tracking and correlation against other incidents.

This product is provided subject to this Notification and this Privacy & Use policy.

Vendor

Mitsubishi Electric Automation