CVE-2015-6422 in Unified Communications Domain Manager
Summary
by MITRE
The self-service application in Cisco Unified Communications Domain Manager (CUCDM) 10.6(1) allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (subapplication outage) via malformed requests, aka Bug ID CSCuu10981.
Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/01/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-6422 affects Cisco Unified Communications Domain Manager version 10.6(1) and represents a significant security flaw in the self-service application component. This issue enables remote authenticated attackers to trigger a denial of service condition that results in subapplication outages, effectively disrupting the availability of critical communication services. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms within the self-service application, which fails to properly handle malformed requests that are crafted specifically to exploit the system's processing logic. The bug was catalogued under Cisco's internal tracking system as CSCuu10981, indicating it was recognized as a substantial operational risk that required immediate attention. The self-service application in CUCDM serves as a critical interface for managing user accounts, provisioning services, and maintaining communication domain configurations, making any disruption to its functionality particularly impactful for enterprise communication systems.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when authenticated users submit malformed requests to the self-service application interface. These requests contain specially crafted data that bypasses normal input validation checks and causes the application to enter an unstable state or crash entirely. The flaw likely resides in the application's request parsing or parameter handling mechanisms, where insufficient sanitization allows malicious input to disrupt the normal execution flow. When such malformed requests are processed, they can trigger memory corruption, infinite loops, or other error conditions that lead to the subapplication becoming unavailable. The vulnerability demonstrates poor defensive programming practices and highlights the importance of implementing robust input validation and error handling mechanisms. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-129 Input Validation and OWASP Top Ten category A03: Injection, as it involves improper handling of user-supplied data that can be manipulated to cause system instability. The attack vector requires authentication, meaning that only users with valid credentials can exploit this weakness, but this does not mitigate the potential impact on service availability.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-6422 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the reliability and trustworthiness of enterprise communication infrastructure. When the self-service application experiences outages, end users lose access to critical account management functions, including password resets, account provisioning, and service configuration changes. This disruption can cascade into broader communication failures as administrators may be unable to perform essential maintenance tasks or respond to user requests during critical periods. Organizations relying on Cisco Unified Communications Domain Manager for their business communication needs face significant operational risks, particularly in mission-critical environments where continuous availability is essential. The vulnerability also creates opportunities for attackers to conduct reconnaissance activities, as successful exploitation can provide insights into the system's internal structure and processing behavior. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1499.004, which covers Network Denial of Service, and T1566.002, which involves spearphishing with social engineering, as attackers may use legitimate authentication credentials to exploit this weakness. The DoS condition can persist until manual intervention occurs, requiring system administrators to restart affected services or apply patches, which can result in extended downtime and operational disruption.
Organizations affected by CVE-2015-6422 should implement immediate mitigations while planning for permanent resolution through official Cisco security updates. The primary mitigation strategy involves applying the security patch released by Cisco as part of their regular security advisory process, which addresses the input validation deficiencies in the self-service application. Network segmentation and access controls should be reviewed to limit the number of authenticated users who can access the vulnerable application interface, reducing the attack surface. Monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns of request processing that might indicate exploitation attempts, enabling early detection of potential attacks. Administrators should also implement automated alerting mechanisms that notify security teams when service disruptions occur, allowing for rapid response to incidents. Additionally, implementing rate limiting and request validation controls at the network perimeter can help prevent exploitation attempts from overwhelming the application with malformed requests. The vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and conducting regular vulnerability assessments to identify and remediate similar issues before they can be exploited by malicious actors. Organizations should also consider implementing redundancy measures and backup procedures to ensure continued service availability during patch deployment or system recovery operations, as the DoS condition can significantly impact business continuity and communication services.