SSH security downgrade via sequence-number manipulation
Published Dec 18, 2023 · Updated Jul 14, 2026
Improper integrity validation in Siemens industrial SSH endpoints allows man-in-the-middle attackers to remove handshake packets. The Binary Packet Protocol carries sequence numbers across the SSH handshake, letting injected unauthenticated packets advance them before encryption so selected extension-negotiation packets can be truncated without detection. Exploitation requires active network interception and negotiation of ChaCha20-Poly1305 or CBC with Encrypt-then-MAC; the bounded result is a connection with security features downgraded or disabled.
Summary
What happened
Improper integrity validation in Siemens industrial SSH endpoints allows man-in-the-middle attackers to remove handshake packets. The Binary Packet Protocol carries sequence numbers across the SSH handshake, letting injected unauthenticated packets advance them before encryption so selected extension-negotiation packets can be truncated without detection. Exploitation requires active network interception and negotiation of ChaCha20-Poly1305 or CBC with Encrypt-then-MAC; the bounded result is a connection with security features downgraded or disabled.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-48795
- Published
- Dec 18, 2023
- Updated
- Jul 14, 2026
- Vendor
- Siemens
- Product
- SIPLUS S7-1500 CPU 1518-4 PN/DP MFP
- Classifications
- CWE-354, T1557
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 18, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 14, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=V3.1.5 <*
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Terrapin Artifacts proof-of-concept attack proxiesproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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