CVE-2016-10503 in Sametime Meeting Server
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Sametime Meeting Server 8.5.2 and 9.0 could allow an authenticated and invited user of Sametime meeting to lower any or all hands in an e-meeting, thus spoofing results of votes in the meeting. IBM X-Force ID: 113803.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/10/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-10503 affects IBM Sametime Meeting Server versions 8.5.2 and 9.0, representing a significant security flaw in enterprise collaboration software that undermines the integrity of virtual meeting processes. This vulnerability specifically targets the meeting management functionality where authenticated participants can manipulate the hand-raising mechanism that is typically used for voting and participation control during electronic meetings. The flaw allows malicious users to artificially lower hands that were raised by other participants, effectively spoofing the outcomes of votes and potentially altering the decision-making process within the meeting environment. This represents a critical compromise of meeting authenticity and participant intent representation.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls and validation mechanisms within the Sametime Meeting Server's hand-raising and voting subsystem. When users participate in meetings, the system maintains a record of raised hands to track participation and facilitate voting processes. However, the vulnerability allows authenticated users to modify these hand states without proper authorization, essentially enabling them to manipulate the perceived results of polls and voting activities. This flaw operates at the application layer and leverages the existing authentication mechanisms to gain elevated privileges within the meeting context, making it particularly dangerous as it exploits legitimate user access rather than requiring external exploitation techniques.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple manipulation of meeting outcomes to potentially compromise the entire decision-making process within enterprise collaboration environments. Organizations relying on Sametime for critical business meetings, governance sessions, or formal voting processes could experience significant disruptions when malicious participants exploit this vulnerability to alter vote counts and influence meeting resolutions. The spoofing capability affects not only the immediate meeting but also creates potential long-term trust issues among participants who may question the authenticity of future meeting outcomes. This vulnerability particularly impacts organizations that depend on electronic voting for formal decisions, board meetings, or any collaborative processes where meeting outcomes must be accurately represented.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to patched versions of IBM Sametime Meeting Server, reviewing and strengthening access controls for meeting participants, and implementing additional monitoring of meeting activities for unusual hand-raising patterns. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 Access Control Issues, specifically representing improper access control within collaborative software environments. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques and can be categorized under T1078 Valid Accounts and T1496 Resource Hijacking, as it allows unauthorized manipulation of meeting resources and processes. Additional defensive measures should include logging and auditing of hand-raising activities, implementing multi-factor authentication for meeting access, and establishing clear protocols for verifying meeting outcomes in critical decision-making scenarios.