CVE-2015-4305 in Prime Collaboration Assurance
Summary
by MITRE
The web framework in Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance before 10.5.1.53684-1 allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended system-database read restrictions, and discover credentials or SNMP communities for arbitrary tenant domains, via a crafted URL, aka Bug ID CSCus62656.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/18/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-4305 affects Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance software version 10.5.1.53684-1 and earlier, representing a critical authorization bypass flaw that undermines the security boundaries of multi-tenant environments. This vulnerability specifically targets the web framework component of the application, which is responsible for managing user access and data isolation across different tenant domains within the collaboration assurance platform.
The technical flaw manifests through improper input validation and access control mechanisms within the web application's URL handling functionality. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting specifically formatted URLs that allow them to traverse the intended access control restrictions that should prevent users from accessing data belonging to other tenant domains. The vulnerability specifically enables unauthorized access to system databases and exposes sensitive information including user credentials and SNMP community strings that are typically restricted to authorized administrators within their respective tenant contexts.
This vulnerability directly relates to CWE-285, which describes improper authorization issues in software systems, and represents a classic case of insufficient access control validation. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure as it allows attackers to potentially escalate their privileges and gain unauthorized access to data belonging to other organizations sharing the same infrastructure. The bug ID CSCus62656 indicates this was a recognized issue within Cisco's internal tracking system, suggesting it was not an isolated incident but rather a systemic flaw in the access control implementation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe for organizations utilizing Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance in multi-tenant deployments, as it effectively nullifies the security isolation between different customer domains. Attackers who can authenticate to the system, even with limited privileges, can leverage this flaw to access sensitive data from other tenants, potentially compromising the confidentiality and integrity of multiple organizations' collaboration environments. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and credential access, as it allows unauthorized access to system resources through legitimate authentication mechanisms.
Organizations should immediately apply the vendor-provided security patches and updates to address this vulnerability, as the window for exploitation remains open until the fix is deployed. The recommended mitigation strategy includes not only applying the software update but also implementing network segmentation and monitoring for suspicious URL access patterns. Additionally, administrators should review and tighten access controls, ensure proper user role assignments, and conduct regular security assessments to identify similar authorization bypass vulnerabilities in other components of the collaboration infrastructure.