CVE-2015-0705 in Unified MeetingPlace
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the SOAP API endpoints of the web-services directory in Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 8.6(1.9) allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that create administrative accounts, aka Bug ID CSCus97494.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/09/2022
The vulnerability described in CVE-2015-0705 represents a critical cross-site request forgery weakness within the SOAP API endpoints of Cisco Unified MeetingPlace version 8.6(1.9). This flaw resides in the web-services directory component of the unified communications platform, specifically affecting the administrative account creation functionality through SOAP interfaces. The vulnerability enables remote attackers to exploit the lack of proper authentication verification mechanisms when processing administrative requests, potentially allowing unauthorized individuals to create new administrative accounts without legitimate credentials.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins and lack of anti-forgery tokens within the SOAP API endpoints. When administrators perform administrative tasks through the web services directory, the system fails to properly verify that requests originate from legitimate authenticated sessions. This weakness creates a scenario where malicious actors can craft specially crafted requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator, result in unauthorized administrative account creation. The vulnerability specifically impacts the SOAP API functionality that handles administrative operations, making it particularly dangerous as it allows attackers to escalate privileges within the system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it provides attackers with persistent administrative access to the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace system. Once an attacker successfully creates an administrative account, they gain complete control over the platform, including the ability to modify user permissions, access sensitive meeting data, manipulate system configurations, and potentially use the compromised system as a pivot point for further attacks within the network. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects the web services directory, which typically serves as a critical interface for system management and integration with other enterprise applications.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including enforcing proper anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms within the SOAP API endpoints, implementing additional authentication controls for administrative operations, and restricting access to the web services directory through network segmentation. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques and credential access phases, as attackers can leverage the created administrative accounts to maintain persistent access. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls to monitor and filter suspicious SOAP requests, and establish regular security assessments to identify similar authentication bypass vulnerabilities in other web service components.