As of January 10, 2023, CISA will no longer be updating ICS security advisories for Siemens product vulnerabilities beyond the initial advisory. For the most up-to-date information on vulnerabilities in this advisory, please see Siemens’ ProductCERT Security Advisories (CERT Services | Services | Siemens Global).
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- CVSS v3 7.8
- ATTENTION: Low attack complexity
- Vendor: Siemens
- Equipment: Altair Grid Engine
- Vulnerabilities: Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information, Uncontrolled Search Path Element
2. RISK EVALUATION
Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code with superuser permissions.
3. TECHNICAL DETAILS
3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS
The following versions of Altair Grid Engine are affected:
- Altair Grid Engine: All versions prior to V2026.0.0
3.2 VULNERABILITY OVERVIEW
3.2.1 GENERATION OF ERROR MESSAGE CONTAINING SENSITIVE INFORMATION CWE-209
Affected products do not properly handle error messages and disclose sensitive password hash information when processing user authentication requests. This could allow a local attacker to extract password hashes for privileged accounts, which can then be subjected to offline brute-force attacks.
CVE-2025-40760 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).
3.2.2 UNCONTROLLED SEARCH PATH ELEMENT CWE-427
Affected products do not properly validate environment variables when loading shared libraries, allowing path hijacking through malicious library substitution. This could allow a local attacker to execute arbitrary code with superuser privileges by manipulating the environment variable and placing a malicious library in the controlled path.
CVE-2025-40763 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
3.3 BACKGROUND
- CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Critical Manufacturing
- COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
- COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: Germany
3.4 RESEARCHER
Daniele Montanaro reported these vulnerabilities to Siemens. Siemens ProductCERT reported these vulnerabilities to CISA.
4. MITIGATIONS
Siemens has identified the following specific workarounds and mitigations users can apply to reduce risk:
- Update to V2026.0.0 or later version.
- CVE-2025-40760: For clusters not using the UGERest API/daemon remove the setuid-root bit from the binaries for all architectures: chmod u-s $SGE_ROOT/utilbin//authuser.
- CVE-2025-40763: For non Windows clusters remove the setuid-root bit from the “sgepasswd” binary for all installed architectures: chmod u-s $SGE_ROOT/bin//sgepasswd.
As a general security measure, Siemens recommends protecting network access to devices with appropriate mechanisms. To operate the devices in a protected IT environment, Siemens recommends configuring the environment according to Siemens’ operational guidelines for industrial security and following recommendations in the product manuals.
Additional information on industrial security by Siemens can be found on the Siemens industrial security webpage.
For more information see the associated Siemens security advisory SSA-514895 in HTML and CSAF.
CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of these vulnerabilities, such as:
- Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, ensuring they are not accessible from the Internet.
- Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls and isolating them from business networks.
- When remote access is required, use more 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 the 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 on 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.
CISA encourages organizations to implement recommended cybersecurity strategies for proactive defense of ICS assets.
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.
No known public exploitation specifically targeting these vulnerabilities has been reported to CISA at this time. These vulnerabilities are not exploitable remotely.
5. UPDATE HISTORY
- November 13, 2025: Initial Republication of Siemens SSA-514895
