CVE-2014-0661 in TelePresence System
Summary
by MITRE
The System Status Collection Daemon (SSCD) in Cisco TelePresence System 500-37, 1000, 1300-65, and 3xxx before 1.10.2(42), and 500-32, 1300-47, TX1310 65, and TX9xxx before 6.0.4(11), allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands or cause a denial of service (stack memory corruption) via a crafted XML-RPC message, aka Bug ID CSCui32796.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/08/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-0661 affects the System Status Collection Daemon (SSCD) component within Cisco TelePresence systems, specifically targeting models including the 500-37, 1000, 1300-65, 3xxx series before version 1.10.2(42), and 500-32, 1300-47, TX1310 65, and TX9xxx series before version 6.0.4(11). This flaw resides in the XML-RPC message processing functionality of the SSCD service, which is responsible for collecting and transmitting system status information to remote management systems. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and improper handling of XML-RPC requests, creating a critical security gap that can be exploited by remote attackers without authentication.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a stack memory corruption exploit that occurs when the SSCD daemon processes specially crafted XML-RPC messages. The flaw manifests as a buffer overflow or stack corruption condition that can be triggered through malformed XML-RPC payloads sent to the affected system. This type of vulnerability typically maps to CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow, where insufficient bounds checking allows an attacker to overwrite adjacent memory locations on the stack. The exploitation mechanism leverages the XML-RPC protocol's ability to serialize complex data structures, enabling attackers to inject malicious payloads that manipulate the program's execution flow.
The operational impact of CVE-2014-0661 is severe and multifaceted, encompassing both remote code execution capabilities and denial of service conditions that can completely compromise the targeted TelePresence systems. Remote attackers can leverage this vulnerability to execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the SSCD service, potentially gaining full system control over the affected devices. Additionally, the stack memory corruption can lead to system crashes, resulting in denial of service that disrupts video conferencing operations and compromises business continuity. The vulnerability affects enterprise communication infrastructure, making it particularly dangerous in environments where reliable video conferencing is critical for operations.
This vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK framework techniques including T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter for executing malicious code, T1489 Service Stop for causing denial of service, and T1071.004 Application Layer Protocol for leveraging XML-RPC communication channels. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches, restricting network access to the affected SSCD service ports, and monitoring for suspicious XML-RPC traffic patterns. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be configured to limit access to these systems from untrusted networks, while also implementing intrusion detection systems to identify potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of validating all external input in network services and highlights the critical need for robust input sanitization in protocol handlers to prevent memory corruption exploits that can lead to complete system compromise.