ABB Ability Symphony Plus Engineering

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Summary

ABB became aware of vulnerability in the products versions listed as affected in the advisory. The ABB S+ Engineering product versions are affected by vulnerabilities in PostgreSQL version 13.11 and earlier versions. If an attacker gains access to a site’s S+ Client Server network, they could exploit such vulnerabilities by executing arbitrary code and potentially compromising the entire system.

The following versions of ABB Ability Symphony Plus Engineering are affected:

• Ability Symphony Plus 2.2, 2.3, 2.3_RU1, 2.3_RU2, 2.3_RU3, 2.4, 2.4_SP1, 2.4_SP2, 2.4_SP2_RU1 

Background

• Critical Infrastructure Sectors: Chemical, Critical Manufacturing, Energy, Water and Wastewater
• Countries/Areas Deployed: Worldwide
• Company Headquarters Location: Switzerland

Vulnerabilities

Acknowledgments

• ABB Global 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 ABB. ABB 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 ABB 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 ABB 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 ABB, 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the scope of the vulnerability? – An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could insert and run arbitrary code in the S+ system. What causes the vulnerability? – It is caused by several vulnerabilities in the PostgreSQL version 13.11 and earlier versions component used by the S+ Engineering product (see Affected products). What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do? – An attacker who successfully accessed the site’s S+ client/server network could cause a denial-of-service situation, corruptions of data or unauthorized disclosure of information. How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability? – To exploit the PostgreSQL vulnerabilities (see Vulnerability severity and details), an attacker should successfully access to the site’s S+ client/server network, remotely (through a wrongly configured or penetrated firewall) or even compromising a local machine and then accessing to PostgreSQL. Recommended practices help mitigate such attacks, see section Mitigating Factors above. Could the vulnerability be exploited remotely? – Yes, see the above How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability? Recommended practices include that process control systems are physically protected, 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. Can functional safety be affected by an exploit of this vulnerability? – Functional safety systems are not affected by these vulnerabilities What does the update do? – The S+ Engineering update removes the vulnerability by installing a secure updated PostgreSQL version. When this security advisory was issued, had this vulnerability been publicly disclosed? – Yes, PostgreSQL 13.11 vulnerabilities have been publicly disclosed. When this security advisory was issued, had ABB received any reports that this vulnerability was being exploited? – No, ABB had not received any information indicating that S+ Engineering had been exploited when this security advisory was originally issued.

Legal Notice and Terms of Use

This product is provided subject to this Notification (https://www.cisa.gov/notification) and this Privacy & Use policy (https://www.cisa.gov/privacy-policy).

Recommended Practices

CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the exploitation risk of this vulnerability.

Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, and ensure they are not accessible from the internet.

Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls and isolate 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 recent version available. Also recognize VPN is only as secure as its 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. 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 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 ABB PSIRT 7PAA017341 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 ABB PSIRT directly for any questions regarding this advisory.

Revision History

• Initial Release Date: 2026-04-13

Legal Notice and Terms of Use