CVE-2024-41904: Siemens Sinec Traffic Analyzer Auth Bypass

CVE-2024-41904 Overview

CVE-2024-41904 affects Siemens SINEC Traffic Analyzer (6GK8822-1BG01-0BA0), an industrial network monitoring appliance. The vulnerability stems from the application failing to enforce restrictions on excessive authentication attempts [CWE-307]. An unauthenticated remote attacker can launch brute force attacks against legitimate user credentials or keys without rate limiting or lockout enforcement. Siemens published advisory SSA-716317 covering this issue. All product versions prior to V2.0 are affected.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated network-based brute force attacks can compromise valid user accounts on industrial network monitoring infrastructure, exposing sensitive operational technology (OT) traffic data.

Affected Products

Siemens SINEC Traffic Analyzer (6GK8822-1BG01-0BA0)
All versions prior to V2.0
Industrial network monitoring deployments using the affected appliance

Discovery Timeline

2024-08-13 - CVE-2024-41904 published to NVD
2024-08-13 - Siemens releases security advisory SSA-716317
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-41904

Vulnerability Analysis

The SINEC Traffic Analyzer authentication interface does not implement adequate controls against repeated authentication failures. Standard protections such as account lockout, progressive delays, CAPTCHA challenges, or IP-based throttling are absent or insufficient. Attackers can issue an unlimited number of authentication requests against the same account.

The vulnerability falls under [CWE-307] Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts. Because the affected component is network-accessible and requires no prior authentication, an attacker only needs network reachability to the management interface. Successful credential discovery grants the attacker access to network traffic analysis data, which may include sensitive OT communications, device inventories, and protocol metadata.

Root Cause

The affected versions of the application lack a mechanism to track failed authentication attempts per account or per source. Without enforcement of attempt counters, time-based lockouts, or exponential backoff, the authentication endpoint accepts unlimited credential submissions. This design weakness directly enables credential guessing at network speed.

Attack Vector

An attacker with network access to the SINEC Traffic Analyzer management interface submits successive authentication requests using automated tools such as hydra, medusa, or custom scripts. Credential dictionaries, leaked password lists, or key material can be tested against valid usernames. No user interaction is required, and the attack proceeds entirely over the network. Weak or default passwords are recovered quickly under these conditions.

No public proof-of-concept exploit is currently available, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-41904

Indicators of Compromise

High volumes of failed authentication events in SINEC Traffic Analyzer logs originating from one or a small set of source IP addresses
Successful authentication immediately following a burst of failures from the same source
Authentication attempts occurring outside normal operational hours or from unexpected network segments
Unusual session activity following credential validation, such as configuration access from non-administrator endpoints

Detection Strategies

Ingest SINEC Traffic Analyzer authentication logs into a centralized SIEM and create rules thresholding failed login counts per source and per account
Correlate authentication failures with subsequent successful logins to identify likely brute force compromise
Baseline normal administrative access patterns and alert on deviations in source address, time, or frequency

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward all management interface access logs to a centralized logging platform with long retention
Monitor north-south traffic to the SINEC appliance for repeated TCP connections to the authentication endpoint
Alert on authentication anomalies originating from non-management VLANs or external network segments

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-41904

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade SINEC Traffic Analyzer to version V2.0 or later as directed by Siemens advisory SSA-716317
Restrict network access to the SINEC Traffic Analyzer management interface to a dedicated administrative network or jump host
Enforce strong, unique passwords for all SINEC Traffic Analyzer accounts and rotate credentials suspected of exposure
Review historical authentication logs for prior brute force activity

Patch Information

Siemens addresses CVE-2024-41904 in SINEC Traffic Analyzer V2.0. Customers should consult the Siemens Security Advisory SSA-716317 for official remediation guidance, download instructions, and any product-specific upgrade procedures.

Workarounds

Place the SINEC Traffic Analyzer behind a network firewall that enforces source-IP restrictions on the management interface
Apply network-layer rate limiting using a reverse proxy or firewall to throttle authentication attempts
Disable or remove inactive accounts to reduce the attack surface available for credential guessing
Implement multi-factor authentication on upstream identity providers where supported

bash

# Example firewall rule restricting management access to a trusted subnet
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s 10.10.20.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP