Palo Alto Networks has recently disclosed details of five high-severity vulnerabilities affecting both Iconics and Mitsubishi Electric SCADA products, including Genesis64 and MC Works64. These vulnerabilities are present in both product lines due to Iconics being a part of Mitsubishi Electric. The flaws include DLL hijacking (CVE-2024-1182), incorrect default permissions (CVE-2024-7587), uncontrolled search path elements (CVE-2024-8299 and CVE-2024-9852), and dead code issues (CVE-2024-8300). While exploitation of these vulnerabilities requires authentication, once an attacker gains access, they can execute arbitrary code, escalate privileges, and manipulate critical files, presenting significant risks.
The vulnerabilities in these SCADA systems can have severe real-world consequences, especially in industries where they control vital infrastructure.
In particular, attackers could leverage these weaknesses to disrupt critical systems or take full control of them. Industries such as government, military, water, energy, and manufacturing, where Iconics and Mitsubishi Electric products are widely deployed, could be prime targets. Palo Alto Networks warned that these vulnerabilities pose a serious threat to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems, which could lead to significant operational impacts if left unaddressed.
The vulnerabilities were first discovered in early 2024 in Iconics Suite and Mitsubishi Electric MC Works versions 10.97.2 and 10.97.3 for Windows. After identifying the flaws, Palo Alto Networks worked with the cybersecurity agency CISA and the affected vendors to release patches and mitigations. These patches, issued in 2024, were designed to address the vulnerabilities and help organizations protect their systems from potential exploitation. The wide usage of Iconics and Mitsubishi Electric SCADA products makes these vulnerabilities highly attractive to attackers, with hundreds of thousands of installations globally.
With such widespread deployments, these vulnerabilities could be highly valuable to cybercriminals targeting critical sectors.
The risks associated with these flaws are considerable, and organizations using affected products should prioritize patching their systems to mitigate the potential threats. Although authentication is required to exploit these vulnerabilities, the consequences of a successful attack could be devastating. As of 2024, the patches and mitigations are available, but the ongoing monitoring of these vulnerabilities is necessary to ensure that affected systems remain secure.
