2026-10-29
CISA Advisory
View CSAF Summary Hitachi Energy is aware of OS command injection and Dirty Frag vulnerabilities that affect CoreTec product versions listed in this document. Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could result in impact on confidentiality, integrity and availability of the product. Please refer to the Recommended Immediate Actions for information about the mitigation/remediation. The following versions of Hitachi Energy CoreTec Product are affected: CoreTec5 vers:CoreTec5/ CoreTec4 vers:CoreTec4/ CVSS Vendor Equipment v3 8.8 Hitachi Energy CoreTec5 2 Vulnerabilities Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection'), Write-what-where Condition Background Critical Infrastructure Sectors: Energy Countries/Areas Deployed: Worldwide Company Headquarters Location: Switzerland Vulnerabilities Expand All + CVE-2026-13162 An OS command vulnerability exists in CoreTec product that allows authenticated users with certain roles to execute arbitrary system commands with full control over the device. The vulnerability exists in the configuration daemon's time synchronization handler, which is responsible for setting the system timezone. When processing timezone configuration updates, the daemon constructs a shell command by concatenating user-supplied input without any sanitization or validation. Read More 2 Affected Products CoreTec5 versions 3.4.0 and prior Product Status: fixed, known_affected, recommended Remediations Vendor fix Update to CoreTec5 version 5.0.0 CoreTec4 versions 3.4.0 and prior Product Status: fixed, known_affected, recommended Remediations Vendor fix Upgrade to CoreTec5 version 5.0.0 Mitigation Follow general mitigation factors Additional Metrics Relevant CWE: CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') CVSS Version Base Score Base Severity Vector String 3.1 7.5 HIGH CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 4.0 7.7 HIGH CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N View CVE Details CVE-2026-43284 A vulnerability exists in the IPsec ESP subsystem (esp4) of the Linux kernel used in CoreTec5 that allows a local unprivileged user to escalate privileges to root. The flaw exists in how the kernel handles memory pages when processing ESP encrypted network packets. An attacker can craft a packet that causes the kernel to decrypt data directly into memory pages it does not own, including cached copies of privileged operating system binaries. When one of those binaries is executed, the attacker's injected code runs with root privileges. In CoreTec5, the vulnerable ESP component is compiled in kernel as a built-in and is present at boot time allowing a local user to exploit it. Read More 3 Affected Products CoreTec5 versions 3.4.0 and prior Product Status: fixed, known_affected, recommended Remediations Vendor fix Update to CoreTec5 version 5.0.0 CoreTec4 versions 3.4.0 and prior Product Status: fixed, known_affected, recommended Remediations CoreTec5 versions 3.4.0 and prior Product Status: fixed, known_affected, recommended Remediations Vendor fix Update to CoreTec5 version 5.0.0 Additional Metrics Relevant CWE: CWE-123 Write-what-where Condition CVSS Version Base Score Base Severity Vector String 3.1 8.8 HIGH CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H View CVE Details Acknowledgments Ritesh Kumar Kalle, Subhojeet Mukherjee, Hishamudeen of the Cybersecurity Research group, Hitachi India R&D Center reported these vulnerabilities to CISA. Notice The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Hitachi Energy. Hitachi Energy provides no warranty, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, for the information contained in this document, and assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document. In no event shall Hitachi Energy or any of its suppliers be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages of any nature or kind arising from the use of this document, or from the use of any hardware or software described in this document, even if Hitachi Energy or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. This document and parts hereof must not be reproduced or copied without written permission from Hitachi Energy and the contents hereof must not be imparted to a third party nor used for any unauthorized purpose. All rights to registrations and trademarks reside with their respective owners. Support For additional information and support please contact your product provider or Hitachi Energy service organization. For contact information, see https://www.hitachienergy.com/contact-us/ for Hitachi Energy contact-centers. General Mitigation Factors Recommended security practices and firewall configurations can help protect a process control network from attacks that originate from outside the network. Such practices include that process control systems are physically protected from direct access by unauthorized personnel, have no direct connections to the Internet, and are separated from other networks by means of a firewall system that has a minimal number of ports exposed, and others that have to be evaluated case by case. Process control systems should not be used for Internet surfing, instant messaging, or receiving e-mails. Portable computers and removable storage media should be carefully scanned for viruses before they are connected to a control system. Proper password policies and processes should be followed. Additional information on Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Best Practices can be found in the Hitachi Energy “Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Best Practices” Cybersecurity Notification. [1] SSVC SSVCv2/E:N/A:N/2026-10-26T15:17:24Z/ Recommended Practices CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of these vulnerabilities. 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. Advisory Conversion Disclaimer This ICSA is a verbatim republication of Hitachi Energy PSIRT 8DBD000258 from a direct conversion of the vendor's Common Security Advisory Framework (CSAF) advisory. This is republished to CISA's website as a means of increasing visibility and is provided "as-is" for informational purposes only. CISA is not responsible for the editorial or technical accuracy of republished advisories and provides no warranties of any kind regarding any information contained within this advisory. Further, CISA does not endorse any commercial product or service. Please contact Hitachi Energy PSIRT directly for any questions regarding this advisory. Revision History Initial Release Date: 2026-10-27 Date Revision Summary 2026-10-27 1 Initial public release 2026-10-29 2 Initial CISA Republication of Hitachi Energy PSIRT 8DBD000258 advisory Legal Notice and Terms of Use
Fix:
Review CISA guidance and apply vendor security updates immediately.
