CVE-2015-0736 in MediaSense
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Cisco MediaSense 10.5(1) and earlier allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users, aka Bug ID CSCuu16728.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/17/2022
The CVE-2015-0736 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in Cisco MediaSense version 10.5(1) and earlier releases. This vulnerability resides within the web-based management interface of the Cisco MediaSense application, which is designed to provide real-time media statistics and reporting for Cisco Unified Communications environments. The flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions by tricking users into executing unintended actions without their knowledge or consent. The vulnerability specifically affects the authentication mechanisms that govern access to the MediaSense administrative functions, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on this platform for communication analytics and monitoring.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms within the MediaSense web interface. When legitimate users authenticate to the system, their session cookies are typically sufficient for maintaining access to administrative functions. However, the vulnerability allows attackers to craft malicious web pages or send specially crafted requests that can leverage the victim's existing authenticated session to perform unauthorized operations. This occurs because the application does not adequately validate the origin or authenticity of requests, failing to distinguish between legitimate user-initiated requests and those generated by malicious actors. The flaw essentially permits attackers to execute administrative functions such as modifying configurations, accessing sensitive data, or performing other privileged operations on behalf of authenticated users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or modification, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity of user authentication within the Cisco MediaSense environment. Organizations utilizing this platform face potential risks including unauthorized access to communication analytics, manipulation of media statistics, and possible escalation to full system compromise if additional vulnerabilities exist within the broader Cisco Unified Communications infrastructure. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors can exploit this vulnerability from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the network or system. This vulnerability particularly affects enterprises that depend on MediaSense for monitoring their communication systems, as successful exploitation could lead to complete loss of visibility into their network traffic patterns and potential exposure of sensitive business communications data.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest security patches provided by Cisco, which address this specific CSRF vulnerability through proper token validation mechanisms. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit exposure of the MediaSense interface to trusted networks only. Additionally, implementing web application firewalls and monitoring for suspicious authentication-related activities can help detect potential exploitation attempts. From a compliance perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications. The vulnerability also maps to ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers Phishing for Information, as attackers can leverage this flaw to gain unauthorized access to systems through social engineering campaigns targeting authenticated users. Organizations should also consider implementing multi-factor authentication and regular security assessments to reduce the overall attack surface and prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited in other components of their communication infrastructure.