CVE-2014-2199 in WebEx
Summary
by MITRE
meetinginfo.do in Cisco WebEx Event Center, WebEx Meeting Center, WebEx Sales Center, WebEx Training Center, WebEx Meetings Server 1.5(.1.131) and earlier, and WebEx Business Suite (WBS) 27 before 27.32.31.16, 28 before 28.12.13.18, and 29 before 29.5.1.12 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive meeting information by leveraging knowledge of a meeting identifier, aka Bug IDs CSCuo68624 and CSCue46738.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/02/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2014-2199 represents a critical information disclosure flaw within Cisco WebEx collaboration platforms that affects multiple product lines including WebEx Event Center, Meeting Center, Sales Center, Training Center, Meetings Server, and Business Suite. This vulnerability specifically impacts versions up to and including WebEx Meetings Server 1.5.1.131 and various versions of WebEx Business Suite prior to their respective security patches. The flaw enables remote attackers to access sensitive meeting information through a simple exploitation technique that requires only knowledge of a valid meeting identifier, making it particularly dangerous as it does not require authentication or privileged access to the system.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate access controls and insufficient input validation within the meetinginfo.do component of the WebEx applications. When a user or attacker provides a valid meeting identifier to the system, the application fails to properly verify whether the requester has legitimate authorization to access that specific meeting information. This represents a classic case of insufficient authorization checks and weak access control mechanisms that fall under CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization issues in software systems. The vulnerability allows attackers to bypass normal security boundaries and retrieve confidential meeting data including participant lists, meeting schedules, and potentially sensitive business information that should remain private to authorized participants only.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it fundamentally undermines the security model of the WebEx collaboration platform and creates significant risks for organizations relying on these services for business meetings, training sessions, and sensitive discussions. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability to gain intelligence about upcoming meetings, participant demographics, and business schedules, which could lead to targeted social engineering attacks, competitive intelligence gathering, or even physical security breaches if meeting locations are disclosed. The vulnerability also creates potential for denial-of-service scenarios if attackers systematically query the system with valid meeting identifiers, potentially overwhelming server resources and affecting legitimate users. This type of attack pattern aligns with ATT&CK technique T1083, which covers discovery of system information, and T1566, which covers credential harvesting through social engineering, as attackers can use the disclosed information to craft more convincing phishing or impersonation attacks.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement comprehensive mitigation strategies including applying the relevant security patches released by Cisco, implementing network segmentation to limit access to WebEx services, and establishing monitoring procedures to detect unusual patterns of meeting identifier access. The security community should also consider this vulnerability as an example of how collaboration platforms can expose sensitive business data through seemingly minor access control oversights. Additional mitigations include implementing web application firewalls to filter malicious requests, conducting regular security assessments of collaboration platforms, and establishing clear policies for meeting identifier management and sharing. The vulnerability serves as a reminder that even well-established enterprise collaboration platforms require continuous security scrutiny and that information disclosure vulnerabilities can have far-reaching consequences for business operations and competitive positioning. Organizations should also consider implementing additional access controls beyond the basic meeting identifier system, such as requiring additional authentication factors or implementing time-based access restrictions for sensitive meeting information.