CVE-2007-1542 in 7960 Router
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Cisco IP Phone 7940 and 7960 running firmware before POS8-6-0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via the Remote-Party-ID sipURI field in a SIP INVITE request. NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/24/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-1542 represents a critical denial of service weakness affecting Cisco IP Phone 7940 and 7960 devices operating with firmware versions prior to POS8-6-0. This issue resides within the Session Initiation Protocol implementation of these telephony devices, specifically targeting the Remote-Party-ID sipURI field processing within SIP INVITE requests. The vulnerability demonstrates the inherent risks associated with insufficient input validation in networked communication devices that handle real-time voice traffic. The affected phones operate within enterprise and corporate environments where reliable communication infrastructure is paramount, making this flaw particularly concerning from a business continuity perspective.
The technical flaw manifests when a remote attacker crafts a malicious SIP INVITE message containing a specially formatted Remote-Party-ID sipURI field that triggers an unexpected behavior in the phone's SIP processing engine. This particular vulnerability falls under the category of improper input validation as defined by CWE-20, where the system fails to properly validate or sanitize input data before processing it. The vulnerability is classified as a remote attack vector since no local access or authentication is required to exploit the flaw, making it accessible to any attacker who can intercept or inject SIP traffic. The nature of the attack causes the device to become unresponsive or reboot, effectively disrupting voice communication services for users within the affected network segment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can lead to cascading effects within enterprise communication infrastructures where these IP phones serve as critical endpoints. When multiple devices are compromised simultaneously, the resulting denial of service can severely impact business operations and communication workflows. The attack vector specifically targets the SIP protocol stack within the phone firmware, which is fundamental to voice communication services, making the impact particularly severe for organizations relying on IP-based telephony systems. This vulnerability also demonstrates the challenges inherent in maintaining secure firmware updates for embedded communication devices, as many organizations may not have automated update mechanisms in place.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate firmware updates to versions equal to or greater than POS8-6-0, which contain the necessary patches to address the input validation weakness in the SIP processing component. Network administrators should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of these devices to untrusted network segments, while also deploying intrusion detection systems capable of monitoring for suspicious SIP traffic patterns. Organizations should also consider implementing SIP security measures such as SIP TLS encryption and authentication mechanisms to reduce the attack surface. The remediation process must include thorough testing of updated firmware in controlled environments before deployment to ensure compatibility with existing network configurations and services. This vulnerability also highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches for network infrastructure devices, as outlined in the NIST cybersecurity framework and aligned with ATT&CK technique T1499 for network denial of service attacks.