CVE-2015-0597 in WebEx Meetings Server
Summary
by MITRE
The Forgot Password feature in Cisco WebEx Meetings Server 1.5(.1.131) and earlier allows remote attackers to enumerate administrative accounts via crafted packets, aka Bug IDs CSCuj67166 and CSCuj67159.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/20/2017
The vulnerability described in CVE-2015-0597 represents a critical security flaw within Cisco WebEx Meetings Server version 1.5(.1.131) and earlier releases. This issue specifically affects the Forgot Password functionality, which is designed to assist users in recovering access to their accounts when they have forgotten their credentials. The vulnerability enables remote attackers to perform administrative account enumeration through carefully crafted network packets, fundamentally undermining the security posture of the platform. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of information disclosure and privilege escalation, as it allows unauthorized parties to discover valid administrative accounts without proper authentication.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the Forgot Password feature. When legitimate users attempt to reset their passwords, the system should validate the request and only proceed with account verification for valid users. However, the flawed implementation allows attackers to send crafted packets that bypass these validation checks, enabling them to systematically test various administrative account names and observe different responses from the server. This differential response behavior provides attackers with information about which accounts are valid administrative users, effectively creating a user enumeration attack vector. The vulnerability is classified as a weakness in input validation and access control, aligning with CWE-20, which covers "Improper Input Validation" and CWE-285, which addresses "Improper Authorization".
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations relying on Cisco WebEx Meetings Server for their collaboration needs. Successful exploitation allows attackers to identify administrative accounts, which can serve as a foundation for more sophisticated attacks including credential brute force, account takeover, and privilege escalation. Once administrative accounts are known, attackers can potentially gain full control over the WebEx server, leading to data breaches, service disruption, and unauthorized access to sensitive meeting content. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations with large user bases where administrative accounts are frequently targeted. The attack can be executed remotely without requiring any prior authentication, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited from anywhere on the internet. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1078 for Valid Accounts and T1531 for Account Access Removal, as it enables attackers to leverage legitimate administrative credentials for unauthorized access.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations to address this vulnerability, including applying the latest security patches provided by Cisco, which would contain the flawed implementation of the Forgot Password feature. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit exposure of the WebEx server to untrusted networks. Additionally, monitoring and logging should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns in password reset requests that could indicate enumeration attempts. The implementation of rate limiting on password reset functionality can help prevent automated enumeration attacks. Security teams should also conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify similar weaknesses in other collaboration platforms and ensure that access control mechanisms are properly validated. Organizations should consider implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts as an additional protective measure against credential compromise, as outlined in NIST SP 800-63B guidelines for digital identity management.