CVE-2010-3042 in Webex Advanced Recording Format Player
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple buffer overflows in the Cisco WebEx Recording Format (WRF) and Advanced Recording Format (ARF) Players T27LB before SP21 EP3 and T27LC before SP22 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted (1) .wrf or (2) .arf file, a different vulnerability than CVE-2010-3041, CVE-2010-3043, and CVE-2010-3044.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/27/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-3042 represents a critical security flaw affecting Cisco WebEx Recording Format and Advanced Recording Format players, specifically targeting versions T27LB before SP21 EP3 and T27LC before SP22. This issue manifests through multiple buffer overflow conditions that occur when processing specially crafted .wrf and .arf file formats, which are commonly used for recording and sharing web conferencing sessions. The affected software components are part of Cisco's WebEx platform ecosystem, widely utilized in enterprise environments for collaborative meetings and training sessions, making this vulnerability particularly concerning from a cybersecurity perspective.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves improper input validation within the parsing routines of the WRF and ARF players. When these applications encounter malformed data structures within the .wrf or .arf files, the buffer overflow conditions occur due to insufficient bounds checking and memory management practices. The flaw allows attackers to manipulate memory layout through carefully constructed file contents, potentially leading to stack corruption or heap overflow scenarios. This type of vulnerability directly maps to CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers stack-based buffer overflow situations. The attack vector is entirely remote, requiring no local access or user interaction beyond opening the malicious file, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users might unknowingly open compromised recordings.
The operational impact of CVE-2010-3042 extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to potentially enable remote code execution capabilities. When exploited successfully, these buffer overflows can cause application crashes that result in service disruption, but more critically, they may allow attackers to inject and execute arbitrary code within the context of the vulnerable application. This represents a significant escalation from typical denial of service attacks and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which covers legitimate program execution through exploitation of vulnerabilities in legitimate software. Organizations utilizing Cisco WebEx for business-critical operations face substantial risk of unauthorized access, data compromise, and potential lateral movement within their networks if these vulnerabilities are exploited. The vulnerability's presence in widely deployed collaboration software means that successful exploitation could affect thousands of endpoints across multiple organizations simultaneously.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2010-3042 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Cisco WebEx players to the latest available security updates. Organizations must implement strict file validation policies, particularly for email attachments and file downloads from untrusted sources, to prevent automatic execution of potentially malicious .wrf and .arf files. Network segmentation and application whitelisting controls can provide additional layers of protection by restricting which systems can execute these vulnerable applications. Security monitoring should include detection of unusual application behavior patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, such as unexpected process crashes or memory allocation anomalies. Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing of collaboration platforms should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other endpoint applications. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date software inventory and implementing automated patch management processes to quickly deploy security fixes across enterprise environments. Organizations should consider implementing email filtering solutions that can detect and quarantine suspicious file attachments, particularly those with .wrf and .arf extensions that are commonly used in phishing campaigns targeting collaboration platforms.