CVE-2013-6965 in WebEx Training Center
Summary
by MITRE
The registration component in Cisco WebEx Training Center provides the training-session URL before e-mail confirmation is completed, which allows remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions and join an audio conference by entering credential fields from this URL, aka Bug ID CSCul36183.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/12/2022
The vulnerability described in CVE-2013-6965 resides within the registration component of Cisco WebEx Training Center, a widely used web conferencing and training platform. This security flaw represents a critical access control issue that undermines the intended authentication and authorization mechanisms designed to protect sensitive training sessions and audio conferences. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the system provides a training-session URL to users before they have completed email confirmation, creating a window of opportunity for unauthorized access. This behavior violates fundamental security principles of least privilege and proper access validation, as the system fails to enforce mandatory access controls during the registration process.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper state management and insufficient validation of user authentication status. When users initiate registration for a training session, the system prematurely generates and exposes session URLs without verifying that the email confirmation process has been successfully completed. This design flaw allows remote attackers to exploit the temporal gap between registration initiation and confirmation completion to gain unauthorized access to audio conferences. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it enables attackers to bypass intended access restrictions through credential fields contained within the prematurely exposed URL, effectively creating a backdoor mechanism for unauthorized participation in restricted training sessions.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations using Cisco WebEx Training Center for sensitive training programs, corporate education, or confidential instructional sessions. Attackers could potentially join audio conferences without proper authorization, leading to unauthorized access to proprietary information, intellectual property disclosure, or disruption of training activities. The impact extends beyond simple unauthorized access as it could enable eavesdropping on confidential discussions, interference with training content delivery, or even potential data exfiltration through audio channel exploitation. Organizations relying on WebEx for compliance-sensitive training programs face particular risk as this vulnerability could compromise regulatory compliance and data protection requirements.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization in access control systems, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with the ATT&CK technique T1078.004, which involves valid accounts used for unauthorized access. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including patching the affected Cisco WebEx Training Center software to the latest version that addresses this access control flaw. Additionally, administrators should configure the system to delay URL generation until email confirmation is complete, and consider implementing additional access controls such as session timeouts and enhanced authentication mechanisms. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual access patterns or attempts to join conferences using prematurely generated URLs. The remediation approach should also include user education about the importance of email confirmation and proper session management practices to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability.