CVE-2009-2880 in WebEx
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in atrpui.dll in the Cisco WebEx WRF Player 26.x before 26.49.32 for Windows, 27.x before 27.10.x for Windows, 26.x before 26.49.35 for Mac OS X and Linux, and 27.x before 27.11.8 for Mac OS X and Linux allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted WebEx Recording Format (WRF) file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/19/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-2880 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within the atrpui.dll component of Cisco WebEx WRF Player software across multiple platform versions. This vulnerability affects Windows systems running versions 26.x prior to 26.49.32 and 27.x prior to 27.10.x, as well as Mac OS X and Linux systems with affected versions in the 26.x series before 26.49.35 and 27.x series before 27.11.8. The flaw resides in the handling of WebEx Recording Format files, which are commonly used for storing and sharing recorded webinars and meetings. This buffer overflow vulnerability stems from inadequate bounds checking when processing maliciously crafted WRF files, creating a scenario where attacker-controlled data can overwrite adjacent memory locations beyond the allocated buffer space.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations. The flaw specifically manifests when the WebEx WRF Player processes malformed WRF files containing oversized or improperly structured data within the atrpui.dll library. This allows remote attackers to manipulate the program execution flow by overwriting critical memory segments including return addresses and function pointers. The vulnerability's exploitation potential spans both denial of service and remote code execution capabilities, depending on the precise memory corruption achieved during the buffer overflow event.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to organizations relying on Cisco WebEx for collaborative meetings and training sessions. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers can potentially compromise systems simply by enticing users to open malicious WRF files through email attachments, web downloads, or shared network locations. The impact extends beyond individual system compromise to potentially enable broader network infiltration, as successful exploitation could provide attackers with persistent access to target environments. The vulnerability's presence in multiple operating system platforms increases the attack surface and makes it particularly challenging to secure environments using diverse operating systems. Organizations utilizing WebEx for business-critical communications face potential disruption to their collaborative workflows and exposure to data breaches.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate software updates to the patched versions specified in Cisco's security advisories, which address the buffer overflow through proper bounds checking and input validation. System administrators should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of WebEx applications to untrusted networks and users. Additionally, organizations should deploy email filtering solutions to prevent malicious WRF files from reaching end users, while also implementing application whitelisting policies that restrict execution of potentially vulnerable software. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1203, which describes Exploitation for Client Execution, highlighting the need for defensive measures against client-side exploitation techniques. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify potential exploitation vectors, while endpoint protection solutions should be configured to monitor for suspicious file execution patterns associated with known vulnerable software versions.