CVE-2014-2186 in WebEx Meetings Server
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the web framework in Cisco WebEx Meetings Server allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users, aka Bug ID CSCuj81777.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/12/2026
The CVE-2014-2186 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within Cisco WebEx Meetings Server web framework, fundamentally compromising the authentication security model of the platform. This vulnerability enables remote attackers to exploit the absence of proper anti-CSRF mechanisms, allowing them to manipulate authenticated sessions and potentially gain unauthorized access to user accounts. The flaw specifically affects the web application layer of Cisco WebEx Meetings Server, which serves as the primary interface for meeting management and user authentication processes. Attackers can leverage this weakness to execute unauthorized actions on behalf of legitimate users without requiring their credentials, effectively bypassing the authentication mechanisms that should protect sensitive operations within the platform.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the web framework's failure to validate the origin of HTTP requests, particularly those involving state-changing operations within the WebEx Meetings Server environment. When users authenticate to the system, their sessions become vulnerable to manipulation because the application does not implement robust anti-CSRF tokens or referer header validation. This allows attackers to craft malicious web pages or send specially crafted requests that, when executed by authenticated users, perform actions such as creating new meetings, modifying user permissions, or accessing restricted resources without proper authorization. The vulnerability exists at the application logic level where the framework fails to distinguish between legitimate requests initiated by the authenticated user and malicious requests crafted by an attacker, creating a fundamental security gap in the session management architecture.
The operational impact of CVE-2014-2186 extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it enables attackers to potentially compromise entire user sessions and execute persistent attacks against the WebEx Meetings Server infrastructure. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to create unauthorized meetings, gain administrative privileges, or manipulate meeting configurations that could disrupt business operations and compromise sensitive communications. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely heavily on WebEx for business meetings and collaboration, as successful exploitation could lead to data breaches, unauthorized access to confidential meeting content, and potential disruption of critical business processes. Additionally, the remote nature of the attack means that threat actors can exploit this vulnerability from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the network or system infrastructure.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including the deployment of web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious CSRF patterns, enabling proper CSRF token validation mechanisms, and ensuring that all user sessions are properly validated for request origin. The implementation of Content Security Policy headers and strict referer validation can help prevent the exploitation of this vulnerability by blocking malicious requests from external domains. Organizations should also conduct comprehensive security assessments of their WebEx Meetings Server deployments to identify any additional weaknesses in the authentication and session management processes. According to CWE standards, this vulnerability maps to CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for credential access through the exploitation of web application vulnerabilities. The remediation process should include applying Cisco's official security patches and updates, implementing robust session management policies, and conducting regular security testing to ensure that similar vulnerabilities do not persist in the environment.