CVE-2015-4254 in TelePresence Advanced Media Gateway
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability on Cisco TelePresence Advanced Media Gateway devices with software 1.1(1.40) allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users, aka Bug ID CSCuu90732.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/13/2018
The CVE-2015-4254 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in Cisco TelePresence Advanced Media Gateway devices running software version 1.1(1.40). This vulnerability resides within Cisco's unified communications infrastructure, specifically targeting the authentication mechanisms of video conferencing and collaboration systems. The flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions without requiring valid credentials, fundamentally compromising the security posture of affected deployments. Such vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where TelePresence systems serve as critical communication infrastructure for executive and sensitive business operations. The vulnerability's classification as a CSRF issue indicates that it exploits the trust relationship between a web application and a user's browser, allowing malicious actors to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-CSRF token implementation within the device's web interface. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or exploit existing vulnerabilities in web browsers to trick authenticated users into executing unintended administrative commands on the affected media gateway. The vulnerability specifically affects the authentication handling mechanisms of the web-based management interface, where session tokens are not adequately validated against the originating request source. This weakness allows attackers to leverage the authenticated user's session to perform administrative functions such as configuration changes, user management, or system parameter modifications. The flaw operates at the application layer and specifically targets the web services interface of the media gateway, making it particularly concerning given the privileged access that authenticated administrators possess within the system.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-4254 extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it enables attackers to completely compromise the integrity and availability of TelePresence communication systems. Once exploited, attackers can modify critical system configurations, potentially disrupting business continuity for organizations relying on these communication platforms. The vulnerability allows for unauthorized access to sensitive communication data and could facilitate further attacks within the network perimeter. Organizations using Cisco TelePresence Advanced Media Gateway devices face significant risks including unauthorized system modifications, data exfiltration, and potential denial of service conditions that could impact critical business communications. The remote nature of the attack vector means that exploitation can occur from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access or local network presence, making the vulnerability particularly attractive to threat actors.
Security mitigations for CVE-2015-4254 should focus on immediate software updates and network segmentation strategies to protect affected devices. Cisco released patches addressing this vulnerability in subsequent software releases, and organizations should prioritize upgrading to versions that contain the necessary security fixes. Network administrators should implement strict access controls limiting administrative access to these devices to trusted networks only, while also deploying web application firewalls to detect and prevent CSRF attacks. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications, and demonstrates how improper session management can lead to privilege escalation attacks. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and credential access, potentially enabling attackers to establish persistence within the network. Organizations should also consider implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative access, network monitoring for suspicious authentication patterns, and regular security assessments of their unified communications infrastructure to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities.