CVE-2015-6373 in Firepower Extensible Operating System
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System 1.1(1.160) on Firepower 9000 devices allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users, aka Bug ID CSCux10611.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/18/2018
The Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System version 1.1(1.160) running on Firepower 9000 devices contains a critical cross-site request forgery vulnerability that enables remote attackers to hijack user sessions and execute unauthorized actions. This vulnerability resides in the web-based management interface of the firewall appliance, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on Cisco's network security infrastructure. The flaw specifically affects the authentication handling mechanisms within the operating system's web services, allowing malicious actors to forge requests that appear to originate from legitimate authenticated users.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation within the web application's request processing pipeline. When users authenticate to the Firepower 9000 management interface, the system should validate that each subsequent request contains a unique, unpredictable token that ties the request to the authenticated session. However, in this vulnerable version, the system fails to properly verify these tokens, enabling attackers to craft malicious requests that leverage existing user sessions without requiring valid credentials. This flaw operates at the application layer and specifically targets the web management interface, making it particularly dangerous for administrators who frequently access the device through browser-based consoles.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple session hijacking, as it allows attackers to perform arbitrary administrative actions within the compromised device. An attacker could potentially modify firewall rules, alter network policies, disable security features, or even gain complete control over the device's operations. The vulnerability affects all users authenticated to the web interface, including administrators, making it particularly dangerous for organizations where multiple administrators manage the same device. Attackers could exploit this weakness by tricking users into visiting malicious websites or by sending crafted emails containing links that automatically execute malicious requests against the vulnerable device, leveraging the user's existing authenticated session to perform unauthorized operations.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including applying the latest security patches released by Cisco, which address the CSRF token validation issues in the affected version. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit direct access to the Firepower 9000 management interfaces, while implementing additional authentication controls such as multi-factor authentication to reduce the impact of potential exploitation. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery flaws, and represents a critical threat vector in the ATT&CK framework under the technique of Credential Access and Privilege Escalation. Regular monitoring of device logs for suspicious administrative activities and implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious requests can provide additional layers of protection against this type of attack.
This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper session management and token validation in network security appliances. The flaw represents a fundamental failure in the web application's security architecture, where the absence of robust CSRF protection mechanisms creates a pathway for remote attackers to bypass authentication controls. Organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their network infrastructure to identify similar vulnerabilities in other devices and ensure that all security patches are applied promptly to maintain the integrity of their defensive posture. The incident underscores the necessity of maintaining up-to-date security configurations and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that protect against both external and internal threats that could exploit such fundamental authentication flaws.