CVE-2014-0733 in Unified Communications Manager
Summary
by MITRE
The Enterprise License Manager (ELM) component in Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM) 10.0(1) and earlier does not properly enforce authentication requirements, which allows remote attackers to read ELM files via a direct request to a URL, aka Bug ID CSCum46494.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/30/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2014-0733 represents a critical authentication bypass flaw within Cisco Unified Communications Manager's Enterprise License Manager component. This issue affects versions 10.0(1) and earlier, where the ELM module fails to properly validate user credentials before granting access to sensitive license management files. The flaw enables remote attackers to directly access and retrieve ELM files through simple URL requests without proper authentication, creating an unauthorized data access vector that compromises the security posture of unified communication systems. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and authentication enforcement mechanisms within the web interface of the ELM component, allowing malicious actors to exploit this weakness from external network positions.
This authentication bypass vulnerability falls under the CWE-287 category, which specifically addresses improper authentication issues in software systems. The flaw operates at the application layer and represents a significant weakness in the principle of least privilege, as it allows unauthorized access to license management data that typically requires administrative credentials. The ELM component is responsible for managing software licensing and entitlements within Cisco Unified Communications Manager, making the exposed files potentially valuable to attackers seeking to understand system licensing, potentially enabling license manipulation or bypass of software restrictions. The direct URL access method indicates a lack of proper access control checks at the application level, which aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.1.001 for valid accounts and T1566 for phishing attacks that could leverage this weakness to gain further system access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the exposed ELM files may contain sensitive licensing information that could be used for system enumeration, license forgery, or bypassing software restrictions. Attackers could potentially use the retrieved license data to understand system capabilities, identify installed features, or even manipulate licensing parameters to gain unauthorized access to premium features. This weakness creates a persistent threat vector that remains active until the affected system is patched or updated, as the authentication bypass exists in the core web interface components of the Unified Communications Manager. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors can exploit this vulnerability from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access or prior system compromise, making it particularly dangerous for enterprise environments where such systems are often exposed to external network traffic.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement network segmentation to isolate critical unified communications infrastructure from external exposure and apply the relevant Cisco security patches released to address this authentication bypass issue. The mitigation strategy should include disabling unnecessary web services and implementing strict firewall rules to restrict access to the ELM component ports and services. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual URL access patterns or unauthorized file retrieval attempts, while security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify other potential authentication bypass flaws in the broader unified communications infrastructure. Additionally, implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative access and regular security audits of web applications will help prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited in the future, aligning with security best practices outlined in the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and ISO 27001 standards for information security management.