CVE-2013-3395 in Content Security Management Appliance
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the web framework on Cisco IronPort Web Security Appliance (WSA) devices, Email Security Appliance (ESA) devices, and Content Security Management Appliance (SMA) devices allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users, aka Bug IDs CSCuh70263, CSCuh70323, and CSCuh26634.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/06/2018
The CVE-2013-3395 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting Cisco IronPort series security appliances including Web Security Appliance WSA, Email Security Appliance ESA, and Content Security Management Appliance SMA. This vulnerability resides within the web framework component of these network security devices, creating a significant risk for organizations relying on Cisco's email and web security solutions. The flaw specifically enables remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions by tricking users into executing unintended actions through crafted malicious requests. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-352, which categorizes cross-site request forgery weaknesses as a fundamental web application security issue. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple session hijacking, as it allows attackers to perform administrative functions on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge or consent.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-CSRF token mechanisms within the web interface of these security appliances. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious web pages or email content that, when viewed or clicked by an authenticated user, automatically submits requests to the vulnerable appliance's administrative interface. The attack vector typically involves embedding malicious requests within images, scripts, or HTML content that targets the appliance's web management interface. This allows unauthorized modifications to security policies, user configurations, and other administrative functions that should only be accessible to legitimate administrators. The vulnerability affects the authentication mechanisms of these appliances, essentially undermining the security model that should protect against unauthorized access to critical network security controls. According to ATT&CK framework category TA0001, this vulnerability enables initial access and privilege escalation through session manipulation techniques.
The operational impact of CVE-2013-3395 is severe for enterprise networks relying on Cisco IronPort appliances for email and web security. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to modify security policies, create backdoor accounts, redirect traffic through malicious proxies, or disable security features entirely. Organizations using these appliances face potential data breaches, unauthorized access to email systems, and complete compromise of their email security infrastructure. The vulnerability affects the fundamental trust model of these security appliances, as legitimate users can be tricked into performing administrative actions without their awareness. Attackers could leverage this weakness to establish persistent access to email systems, monitor communications, or redirect malicious traffic through compromised appliances. The impact extends to business continuity as these appliances form critical components of enterprise email security architecture. The vulnerability's presence in multiple appliance types increases the attack surface, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with complex security infrastructures. Organizations may experience significant operational disruption, regulatory compliance issues, and potential financial losses due to the compromise of their email security controls.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2013-3395 should include immediate deployment of Cisco's official security patches and updates addressing the CSRF vulnerability. Network administrators should implement additional security controls such as multi-factor authentication for administrative access, network segmentation to limit access to management interfaces, and regular monitoring of administrative activities for suspicious behavior. The implementation of web application firewalls and proper input validation can provide additional layers of protection against similar CSRF attacks. Organizations should also conduct thorough security assessments of their network infrastructure to identify potential exploitation vectors and ensure that all affected appliances are properly patched. Network access controls should be configured to restrict direct access to administrative interfaces from external networks, and internal network segmentation should be implemented to limit lateral movement if exploitation occurs. Regular security awareness training for administrators can help identify potential social engineering attacks that might exploit this vulnerability. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and proper security architecture design that includes defense-in-depth strategies to protect critical network infrastructure components.