CVE-2014-0736 in Unified Communications Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Call Detail Records Analysis and Reporting (CAR) page in Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM) 10.0(1) and earlier allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that make CAR modifications, aka Bug ID CSCum46468.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/09/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2014-0736 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within Cisco Unified Communications Manager's Call Detail Records Analysis and Reporting component. This security weakness exists in versions 10.0(1) and earlier, specifically affecting the CAR page functionality that handles call detail record analysis and reporting operations. The flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions by tricking users into executing unauthorized actions against the target system, fundamentally undermining the authentication mechanisms that should protect administrative functions.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms within the CAR page's request processing. When legitimate users interact with the web interface to perform call detail record modifications, the system fails to verify that requests originate from authenticated users with proper authorization. Attackers can construct malicious web pages or exploit existing user sessions to submit forged requests that appear to come from legitimate authenticated users, thereby bypassing the authentication checks that should prevent unauthorized modifications to call detail records and reporting configurations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, as it provides attackers with the capability to alter critical communication infrastructure settings that affect call routing, billing, and monitoring capabilities. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could modify call detail records, alter reporting parameters, or potentially disrupt communication services by changing configuration settings through the CAR interface. The attack requires no privileged access to the system itself, making it particularly dangerous as it can be executed remotely against authenticated users who maintain legitimate access to the Unified Communications Manager interface.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through spearphishing attachments or links. The flaw represents a classic session hijacking scenario where authentication tokens are not properly validated on state-changing requests, allowing attackers to perform administrative actions without direct access to credentials. Organizations using affected versions of Cisco Unified Communications Manager face significant risk of unauthorized modifications to their telephony infrastructure and potential data integrity compromises.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of affected Cisco Unified Communications Manager versions to address the CSRF implementation flaw. Network administrators should also implement additional security controls such as enabling proper CSRF token validation, implementing web application firewalls, and monitoring for suspicious modifications to call detail records. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other web-based administrative interfaces within the communication infrastructure, ensuring comprehensive protection against session manipulation attacks that could compromise critical telephony services and data integrity.