CVE-2017-6648 in Telepresence Codec
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) of the Cisco TelePresence Codec (TC) and Collaboration Endpoint (CE) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a TelePresence endpoint to reload unexpectedly, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to a lack of flow-control mechanisms within the software. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a flood of SIP INVITE packets to the affected device. An exploit could allow the attacker to impact the availability of services and data of the device, including a complete DoS condition. This vulnerability affects the following Cisco TC and CE platforms when running software versions prior to TC 7.3.8 and CE 8.3.0. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCux94002.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/25/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2017-6648 represents a critical denial of service weakness within Cisco TelePresence Codec and Collaboration Endpoint software systems. This flaw specifically targets the Session Initiation Protocol implementation in Cisco's video conferencing equipment, creating a pathway for remote attackers to disrupt service availability without requiring authentication credentials. The vulnerability stems from insufficient flow-control mechanisms that should normally regulate the rate and volume of incoming SIP communications. When exploited, this weakness allows attackers to flood target devices with excessive SIP INVITE packets, overwhelming the system's ability to process legitimate communications and ultimately forcing the device to reload unexpectedly. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as the vulnerability can completely compromise the availability of critical collaboration services, affecting business continuity and communication infrastructure.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which addresses "Uncontrolled Resource Consumption" in software systems, and specifically manifests as a flow control failure in network protocol handling. The attack vector operates through the SIP protocol's INVITE message mechanism, which is fundamental to establishing multimedia sessions in telepresence systems. An attacker can leverage this weakness by crafting and transmitting a high volume of SIP INVITE requests to the affected device, creating a resource exhaustion scenario that forces the system to reboot. This behavior directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers "Endpoint Denial of Service" through resource exhaustion attacks. The vulnerability affects Cisco TelePresence Codec platforms running software versions prior to 7.3.8 and Collaboration Endpoint platforms running versions prior to 8.3.0, indicating that this was a widespread issue across multiple product lines that required specific software updates to remediate.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service interruption to potentially compromise entire communication infrastructures within organizations that rely on Cisco telepresence systems. When a TelePresence endpoint experiences unexpected reloads, it can disrupt ongoing video conferences, prevent new meetings from being established, and create significant operational delays. The lack of authentication requirements for exploitation means that any remote attacker with network access can potentially trigger this condition, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous in network environments where such access might be limited or monitored. Organizations utilizing these systems face the risk of repeated DoS attacks that could degrade service quality, impact customer relationships, and potentially expose the organization to regulatory compliance issues if critical communication services are unavailable. The vulnerability's impact on collaboration systems also means that business operations that depend on video conferencing capabilities could experience substantial disruption, particularly in mission-critical environments where continuous availability is essential.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate software updates to the affected Cisco platforms, specifically upgrading to versions 7.3.8 or later for TelePresence Codec and 8.3.0 or later for Collaboration Endpoint systems. Network administrators should also implement rate-limiting controls and traffic filtering mechanisms to reduce the impact of potential flood attacks, though these measures may not fully prevent exploitation of the underlying flow control weakness. Cisco has documented this vulnerability through Bug ID CSCux94002, which provides specific guidance for affected deployments. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation to limit access to telepresence systems and establish monitoring procedures to detect unusual traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing proper network access controls to prevent unauthorized exploitation of protocol-level weaknesses in collaboration infrastructure.