CVE-2013-3472 in Unified Communications Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Enterprise License Manager (ELM) in Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CM) allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that make ELM modifications, aka Bug ID CSCui58210.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/07/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-3472 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within Cisco Unified Communications Manager's Enterprise License Manager component. This CSRF vulnerability exists in the administrative interface of the communications platform, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on Cisco's unified communications solutions. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate the authentication state of legitimate users without their knowledge, enabling unauthorized modifications to the Enterprise License Manager functionality. The vulnerability was catalogued under Bug ID CSCui58210, indicating its classification within Cisco's internal tracking systems for security issues.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF mechanisms within the ELM administrative interface. When authenticated users navigate to malicious websites or click on compromised links, the attacker can craft requests that automatically execute within the context of the victim's authenticated session. This occurs because the ELM component does not validate the origin of requests or implement sufficient token-based protections that would prevent unauthorized actions from being executed on behalf of authenticated users. The flaw specifically affects the modification capabilities of the Enterprise License Manager, which handles critical licensing functions for the unified communications platform.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it directly compromises the integrity of the licensing management system within Cisco Unified Communications Manager. Attackers could potentially modify license configurations, disable critical services, or manipulate licensing terms to gain unauthorized access to premium features. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers do not require physical access or local network presence to exploit this vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where administrators may access the system from various locations. Organizations using this platform face significant risk of service disruption, unauthorized feature access, and potential data integrity compromise when this vulnerability remains unpatched.
Organizations should implement multiple layers of mitigation strategies to address this CSRF vulnerability effectively. The primary recommendation involves applying the official Cisco security patches released for this vulnerability, which typically include enhanced anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms within the ELM interface. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit exposure of the administrative interfaces to trusted networks only. Additionally, implementing web application firewalls with CSRF protection capabilities can provide an additional defense layer. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery issues, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through malicious web content. Regular security assessments and monitoring of administrative interface access logs should be conducted to detect potential exploitation attempts, as the vulnerability could enable attackers to maintain persistent access to critical licensing functions within the unified communications infrastructure.