CVE-2015-4307 in Prime Collaboration Provisioning
Summary
by MITRE
The web framework in Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning before 11.0 allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions and create administrative accounts via a crafted URL, aka Bug ID CSCut64111.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/18/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-4307 resides within Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning software version 11.0 and earlier, representing a critical authorization bypass flaw that undermines the security controls designed to protect administrative access. This issue affects the web framework component of the platform, which serves as the primary interface for managing collaboration services including voice, video, and messaging systems. The vulnerability stems from improper validation of user permissions within the application's URL handling mechanism, creating a pathway for authenticated attackers to escalate their privileges without proper authorization.
The technical flaw manifests through a specific URL manipulation technique that allows attackers to bypass intended access controls during account creation processes. When authenticated users interact with certain administrative functions, the application fails to properly verify whether the requesting user possesses the necessary privileges to perform administrative tasks. This weakness enables malicious actors to craft specially formatted URLs that circumvent the normal authorization checks, effectively granting them administrative capabilities within the system. The vulnerability specifically impacts the account creation functionality, allowing attackers to establish new administrative user accounts with full system privileges.
Operationally, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations utilizing Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning, as it enables attackers to establish persistent administrative access to their collaboration infrastructure. Once an attacker successfully exploits this vulnerability, they can create new administrative accounts that persist beyond the initial attack, potentially allowing for continued unauthorized access and system compromise. The impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as administrative accounts provide access to sensitive configuration data, user management capabilities, and system monitoring functions that could be leveraged for further attacks or data exfiltration. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and undermines the integrity of the access control mechanisms within the platform.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning version 11.0 or later, which contains patches addressing this vulnerability. Network segmentation and monitoring of administrative functions should be enhanced to detect suspicious account creation activities. Security teams should also review existing administrative accounts and implement multi-factor authentication for all administrative users. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization issues in software systems, and corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1543 for creation of accounts, highlighting the privilege escalation and persistence aspects of this flaw. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar authorization bypass issues in other enterprise systems and ensure comprehensive protection against such threats.