CVE-2014-2190 in Broadband Access Center Telco Wireless Software
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the web framework in Cisco Broadcast Access Center for Telco and Wireless (aka BAC-TW) allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that make BAC-TW changes, aka Bug IDs CSCuo23804 and CSCuo26389.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/21/2022
The CVE-2014-2190 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within Cisco Broadcast Access Center for Telco and Wireless, a web-based framework designed for telecommunications and wireless network management. This vulnerability resides in the authentication handling mechanisms of the BAC-TW platform, which serves as a centralized management solution for broadcast and wireless network operations. The flaw allows remote attackers to exploit the framework's insufficient protection against CSRF attacks, enabling them to manipulate the authentication state of legitimate users without their knowledge or consent.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the web framework's failure to properly validate and enforce anti-CSRF tokens or mechanisms during critical administrative operations. When authenticated users interact with the BAC-TW web interface, the system should verify that requests originate from legitimate user sessions rather than malicious third-party sites. However, the vulnerability allows attackers to craft malicious web pages or emails that, when visited by authenticated users, automatically submit requests to the BAC-TW system. These requests can modify network configurations, access sensitive data, or perform administrative actions that should only be executable by authorized personnel, effectively bypassing the authentication process through session hijacking techniques.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity and confidentiality of telecommunications network management systems. Attackers can leverage this flaw to execute unauthorized changes to broadcast parameters, modify wireless network configurations, or access privileged network information without detection. The vulnerability affects the entire BAC-TW ecosystem, including various network management functions such as user account modifications, system parameter adjustments, and broadcast content distribution controls. This represents a significant risk to network security, as telecommunications infrastructure administrators may unknowingly authorize malicious actions that could disrupt services or compromise network security.
The attack vector for this vulnerability operates through standard web-based exploitation techniques, where attackers create malicious web pages designed to submit requests to the target BAC-TW system using the victim's existing authenticated session. This approach aligns with the common CSRF attack patterns documented in the ATT&CK framework under the technique of "Web Protocols and Services" and specifically relates to the "Cross-Site Request Forgery" tactic. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-352 indicates that it involves a lack of proper validation of request sources, making it susceptible to manipulation by attackers who can craft requests that appear legitimate to the target system.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including the deployment of anti-CSRF tokens for all administrative functions, enforcement of strict referer header validation, and implementation of SameSite cookie attributes. Network administrators should also consider implementing additional security controls such as multi-factor authentication, network segmentation, and monitoring for suspicious administrative activities. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper web application security practices and adherence to secure coding standards as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity guidelines. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other web applications and systems that may be susceptible to similar CSRF attacks.