CVE-2014-3380 in Unified Communications Domain Manager Platform
Summary
by MITRE
Cisco Unified Communications Domain Manager Platform Software 4.4(.3) and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption) by sending crafted TCP packets quickly, aka Bug ID CSCuo42063.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/29/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-3380 affects Cisco Unified Communications Domain Manager Platform Software versions 4.4.3 and earlier, representing a significant denial of service weakness that can be exploited remotely by attackers. This flaw specifically targets the platform's handling of TCP packet processing, where malicious actors can trigger excessive CPU consumption through carefully crafted packet sequences. The vulnerability operates within the context of network communication protocols and demonstrates how improper input validation can lead to system resource exhaustion, ultimately compromising the availability of the affected service.
The technical mechanism behind this vulnerability involves the platform's insufficient validation of TCP packet headers and payload data during connection establishment and data transmission phases. When the system receives malformed or specially constructed TCP packets at high frequency, it fails to properly process these inputs and instead allocates excessive CPU cycles to handle the malformed data structures. This behavior creates a resource exhaustion condition where the system's processing capabilities become overwhelmed, leading to degraded performance or complete system unavailability. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires minimal privileges to exploit and can be executed remotely without authentication, making it an attractive target for attackers seeking to disrupt business operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can affect critical communication infrastructure within enterprise environments. Organizations relying on Cisco Unified Communications Domain Manager for voice and video conferencing services face potential business interruption risks when this vulnerability is exploited. The high CPU consumption pattern can cause cascading failures across dependent systems, affecting not only the primary platform but also integrated communication services and potentially impacting customer-facing applications. This type of denial of service attack aligns with attack patterns documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the 'Resource Exhaustion' technique, where adversaries consume system resources to deny service to legitimate users.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate software updates and patches from Cisco, as the company has released fixes addressing the specific TCP packet handling flaw. Network administrators should implement rate limiting and traffic filtering mechanisms to reduce the impact of potential exploitation attempts, while also monitoring CPU utilization patterns for unusual spikes that might indicate an active attack. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and resource management in network services, aligning with CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of array indices and other input validation weaknesses. Organizations should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious TCP packet patterns and establish incident response procedures to quickly address potential exploitation attempts.