CVE-2015-0750 in Hosted Collaboration Solution
Summary
by MITRE
The administrative web interface in Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution (HCS) 10.6(1) and earlier allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary commands via crafted input to unspecified fields, aka Bug ID CSCut02786.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/31/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-0750 represents a critical command injection flaw within the administrative web interface of Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution version 10.6(1) and earlier deployments. This vulnerability specifically affects the web-based management console that administrators use to configure and manage collaboration services. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before processing it within the system's backend command execution pathways. Attackers who have gained legitimate authentication credentials can exploit this weakness to inject malicious commands that will be executed with the privileges of the web application's user account, potentially compromising the entire collaboration infrastructure.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the improper handling of user input within unspecified fields of the administrative interface. When authenticated users submit data through these vulnerable parameters, the system fails to adequately filter or escape special characters that could be interpreted as command delimiters or shell metacharacters. This allows attackers to craft malicious payloads that bypass normal input validation checks and inject operating system commands directly into the application's execution context. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates within the administrative interface, meaning that successful exploitation would grant attackers elevated privileges within the collaboration environment, potentially enabling them to modify system configurations, access sensitive data, or even establish persistent backdoors.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-0750 extends beyond simple command execution, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity and confidentiality of the hosted collaboration services. Organizations using affected Cisco HCS versions face significant risk of unauthorized access to their communication infrastructure, potentially leading to data breaches, service disruption, or complete system compromise. The vulnerability's remote execution capability means that attackers do not require physical access to the network, making it particularly attractive for cybercriminals who can exploit it from anywhere on the internet. This flaw also creates potential for privilege escalation attacks where attackers can leverage the administrative interface access to gain deeper system control, making it a prime target for advanced persistent threat actors seeking long-term access to enterprise networks.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation of this vulnerability by upgrading to Cisco HCS versions that contain the necessary security patches and input validation improvements. The mitigation strategy should include implementing network segmentation to limit access to the administrative interface, enforcing strict access controls, and monitoring for suspicious administrative activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider deploying web application firewalls to detect and block malicious input patterns that could be used to exploit this vulnerability. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-77 and CWE-94 categories related to command injection and code injection flaws, and it maps to ATT&CK techniques such as T1059 for command and scripting interpreter and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify similar weaknesses in other network infrastructure components and ensure comprehensive protection against similar attack vectors.