CVE-2014-2117 in Emergency Responder
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple open redirect vulnerabilities in Cisco Emergency Responder (ER) 8.6 and earlier allow remote attackers to redirect users to arbitrary web sites and conduct phishing attacks via unspecified parameters, aka Bug ID CSCun37909.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/09/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-2117 represents a critical open redirect flaw discovered in Cisco Emergency Responder version 8.6 and earlier releases. This security weakness resides within the web-based management interface of the emergency responder system, which is designed to facilitate emergency communications and response coordination for enterprise networks. The vulnerability enables malicious actors to manipulate unspecified parameters within the application's redirect functionality, creating a pathway for unauthorized redirection of user sessions to attacker-controlled web resources.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and parameter sanitization within the Cisco Emergency Responder's web interface components. When users interact with specific application parameters, the system fails to properly validate the redirect destinations, allowing attackers to inject malicious URLs that will be processed and executed by the victim's browser. This flaw operates at the application layer and specifically affects the HTTP redirect mechanisms that are commonly used for session management and navigation within web applications. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-601, which classifies open redirect vulnerabilities as weaknesses that enable attackers to redirect users to untrusted websites, potentially leading to phishing attacks and credential theft.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple redirection capabilities and creates significant security risks for organizations utilizing Cisco Emergency Responder. Attackers can leverage this weakness to craft convincing phishing campaigns that appear legitimate, as the redirect occurs through trusted emergency responder interfaces. Users who click on malicious links may be redirected to attacker-controlled sites designed to harvest credentials, install malware, or collect sensitive information from the targeted network. The vulnerability particularly threatens enterprise environments where emergency responder systems are integrated with critical infrastructure, as successful exploitation could compromise not only user sessions but also access to emergency communication protocols and sensitive incident response data.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest security patches provided by Cisco, which address the specific redirect validation issues in the Emergency Responder software. Network administrators should also consider implementing web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious redirect patterns, and conduct thorough security assessments of all web-based emergency responder interfaces. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and output encoding practices, as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten security principles, particularly focusing on the prevention of unvalidated redirects and forwards. Additionally, security teams should monitor for potential exploitation attempts through network traffic analysis and implement user education programs to recognize and report suspicious redirect behaviors, as this vulnerability can be effectively exploited through social engineering tactics that leverage the trust associated with emergency response systems.