CVE-2016-6454 in Hosted Collaboration Mediation Fulfillment
Summary
by MITRE
A cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the web interface of the Cisco Hosted Collaboration Mediation Fulfillment application could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute unwanted actions. More Information: CSCva54241. Known Affected Releases: 11.5(1). Known Fixed Releases: 11.5(0.98000.216).
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/26/2019
The Cisco Hosted Collaboration Mediation Fulfillment application contains a critical cross-site request forgery vulnerability that fundamentally undermines the security posture of its web interface. This vulnerability resides in the application's authentication mechanisms and session management protocols, creating a pathway for unauthenticated attackers to manipulate the system through carefully crafted malicious requests. The flaw specifically affects the application's ability to distinguish between legitimate user requests and forged requests originating from external sources, thereby exposing the system to unauthorized administrative actions.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly validate request origins and implement anti-CSRF tokens within its web interface forms and API endpoints. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious web pages or emails that, when visited by an authenticated user, automatically submit requests to the vulnerable application without the user's knowledge or consent. This vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the web-based administrative interface, making it particularly dangerous as it allows attackers to perform actions that would normally require legitimate administrative credentials. The flaw demonstrates a classic breakdown in the principle of least privilege and proper request validation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or modification, as it enables full administrative control over the affected application. An attacker could potentially modify user accounts, change system configurations, access sensitive data, or even disrupt service availability. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation does not require physical access to the network or system, making it particularly dangerous in cloud-hosted environments where the application may be accessible from multiple locations. This vulnerability essentially provides a backdoor for unauthorized actors to assume administrative privileges without the need for legitimate credentials, creating a significant risk to business continuity and data integrity.
Organizations utilizing the affected Cisco Hosted Collaboration Mediation Fulfillment application should immediately implement the remediation measures provided in the fixed release 11.5(0.98000.216, which includes proper CSRF token implementation and enhanced request validation mechanisms. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery, and represents a critical weakness in the application's web security architecture. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1566.002 for the initial access phase and T1078 for valid accounts usage, as it enables attackers to effectively assume administrative roles within the system. Network segmentation and additional monitoring of administrative interface access patterns should be implemented as temporary mitigations while the official patch is deployed. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of regular security assessments and proper input validation in web applications, particularly those handling sensitive business data in hosted environments.