CVE-2014-0740 in Unified Communications Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Call Detail Records Analysis and Reporting (CAR) interface in the OS Administration component in Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM) 10.0(1) and earlier allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that make administrative changes, aka Bug ID CSCun00701.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/12/2025
The CVE-2014-0740 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within Cisco Unified Communications Manager's Call Detail Records Analysis and Reporting interface. This vulnerability exists in the OS Administration component of Unified CM versions 10.0(1) and earlier, creating a significant security risk that enables remote attackers to exploit administrative authentication sessions. The flaw specifically targets the CAR interface, which provides administrative users with access to call detail records and reporting functionalities. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to execute unauthorized administrative actions by tricking authenticated users into visiting malicious web pages that submit forged requests to the vulnerable system.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF mechanisms within the affected interface. When administrators access the CAR functionality, their authentication tokens remain valid and are automatically included in requests without proper validation of the request origin. This allows attackers to craft malicious web pages or email attachments that, when viewed by authenticated administrators, automatically submit requests to modify system configurations, access sensitive data, or perform other administrative operations. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and does not require any special privileges or authentication credentials from the attacker beyond the ability to deliver malicious content to a targeted administrator.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple data theft or modification. Since the CAR interface provides access to critical system administration functions, successful exploitation could result in complete system compromise, unauthorized access to call records, modification of system configurations, or even denial of service conditions. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it requires minimal user interaction beyond visiting a malicious website, making it highly effective for social engineering campaigns. Administrators who regularly access the CAR interface become prime targets, as their sessions remain active and authenticated for extended periods, increasing the window of opportunity for exploitation.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including applying the latest security patches from Cisco, which address the CSRF implementation flaw through proper token validation mechanisms. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit exposure of administrative interfaces to untrusted networks. Implementing Content Security Policy headers and using anti-CSRF tokens in all administrative interfaces provides additional defense layers. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566 for social engineering attacks and T1078 for valid accounts usage. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous administrative activities that might indicate exploitation attempts, while regular security assessments should verify proper implementation of CSRF protections across all web-based administrative interfaces.