CVE-2016-6446 in Meeting Server
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in Web Bridge for Cisco Meeting Server could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to retrieve memory from a connected server. More Information: CSCvb03308. Known Affected Releases: 1.8, 1.9, 2.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/14/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-6446 affects Cisco Meeting Server Web Bridge components and represents a critical information disclosure flaw that enables unauthenticated remote attackers to extract sensitive memory contents from affected systems. This vulnerability specifically impacts versions 1.8, 1.9, and 2.0 of the Cisco Meeting Server software, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on Cisco's unified communications infrastructure. The flaw resides in the web bridge functionality that handles incoming requests and processes them without adequate authentication mechanisms, allowing attackers to exploit this weakness from remote locations without requiring valid credentials or prior access to the network.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation and access control implementation within the Web Bridge component of Cisco Meeting Server. When the system receives certain HTTP requests, it fails to properly authenticate or authorize the incoming connections, leading to memory disclosure that can reveal sensitive information including system configuration details, user credentials, session tokens, and potentially cryptographic keys. This memory disclosure occurs through a lack of proper boundary checking and insufficient validation of request parameters, which allows attackers to craft malicious requests that trigger the memory dumping behavior. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-200 as "Information Exposure" and can be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1082 for system information discovery, with potential lateral movement capabilities through the extracted information.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-6446 extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the retrieved memory contents can provide attackers with critical system intelligence that enables more sophisticated attacks. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can gain insights into the system architecture, network topology, and potentially sensitive data stored in memory, which could facilitate subsequent attacks such as credential theft, privilege escalation, or targeted exploitation of other system components. The unauthenticated nature of this vulnerability means that any remote user can attempt to exploit it, making the attack surface extremely broad and difficult to monitor or control. Organizations using affected Cisco Meeting Server versions face significant risk of data breaches, system compromise, and potential regulatory compliance violations due to the exposure of sensitive information through this memory disclosure vulnerability.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-6446 should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems with the latest Cisco security updates and firmware releases that address this specific memory disclosure vulnerability. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to restrict access to the Web Bridge services to only trusted network segments and authorized personnel. Additionally, organizations should deploy intrusion detection systems capable of identifying suspicious memory access patterns and anomalous traffic behavior that may indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify any remaining instances of the vulnerable software, while monitoring logs for unusual access patterns or failed authentication attempts that could signal exploitation activity. The vulnerability highlights the importance of implementing proper input validation and access control mechanisms in web applications and demonstrates the critical need for regular security updates and vulnerability management processes to protect against remote code execution and information disclosure threats.