CVE-2015-4280 in Prime Collaboration
Summary
by MITRE
Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance 10.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (HTTP service outage) via a crafted HTTP request, aka Bug ID CSCum38844.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/03/2022
Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance version 10.0 contains a vulnerability that enables remote attackers to trigger a denial of service condition by submitting specially crafted HTTP requests to the affected system. This vulnerability specifically targets the HTTP service component of the application, allowing malicious actors to disrupt normal operations and potentially render the service unavailable to legitimate users. The flaw exists in how the system processes incoming HTTP requests, creating a pathway for attackers to exploit the application's handling of malformed or specially constructed request parameters. The vulnerability has been assigned the bug identifier CSCum38844 and represents a significant security concern for organizations relying on Cisco's collaboration assurance platform for their communication infrastructure management.
The technical nature of this vulnerability falls under the category of HTTP request handling flaws that can lead to service disruption. Attackers can craft specific HTTP requests that, when processed by the vulnerable system, cause the HTTP service to crash or become unresponsive. This type of vulnerability typically stems from inadequate input validation and error handling mechanisms within the web application's processing pipeline. The flaw likely occurs in the application's request parsing logic where it fails to properly sanitize or validate incoming HTTP headers, parameters, or request bodies before processing them. Such issues are commonly classified under CWE-129 Input Validation and Output Encoding, as they involve improper handling of user-supplied data that can be manipulated to cause unintended behavior.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, potentially affecting critical communication infrastructure management functions within enterprise networks. Organizations using Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance 10.0 may experience complete HTTP service outages that prevent administrators from accessing the system for monitoring, configuration, or troubleshooting activities. This disruption can cascade into broader network management issues, as administrators lose visibility into collaboration services and may be unable to respond to other network events or incidents. The vulnerability's remote exploitation capability means that attackers do not require physical access or network proximity to exploit the flaw, making it particularly dangerous in environments where network security controls may not fully isolate critical infrastructure components. This type of attack aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 Network Denial of Service, which involves causing disruption to network services through various means.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest security patches released by Cisco to address this vulnerability. Network segmentation and access controls should be enforced to limit exposure of the affected system to untrusted networks and users. Implementing web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems can help detect and block malicious HTTP requests before they reach the vulnerable service. Regular monitoring of system logs and network traffic should be enhanced to identify potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should conduct vulnerability assessments to identify any other potentially affected systems within their network infrastructure that may share similar vulnerabilities. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of patches in controlled environments before deployment to production systems to ensure that security updates do not introduce compatibility issues with existing network management workflows.