CVE-2017-6756 in Prime Collaboration Provisioning Tool
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in the Web UI Application of the Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning Tool through 12.2 could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute unwanted actions. The vulnerability is due to a lack of defense against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by forcing the user's browser to perform any action authorized for that user. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvc90280.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/07/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-6756 resides within the Web UI Application of Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning Tool version 12.2 and earlier, representing a critical security weakness that undermines the integrity of the system's authentication mechanisms. This flaw manifests as a complete absence of cross-site request forgery protection measures, creating a significant attack surface that can be exploited by remote threat actors without requiring any credentials or prior access to the system. The vulnerability specifically affects the web-based administrative interface that users interact with to manage collaboration services, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to compromise the underlying infrastructure.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to implement proper CSRF protection mechanisms, which are essential for preventing unauthorized commands from being executed on behalf of authenticated users. When a user visits a malicious website or clicks on a crafted link, the application fails to validate the origin of the request, allowing an attacker to construct malicious requests that leverage the user's existing authentication session. This weakness aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities, and represents a fundamental failure in the application's security architecture that enables attackers to perform actions such as modifying user accounts, changing system configurations, or executing administrative commands without proper authorization. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates entirely within the context of the user's authenticated session, making it nearly impossible to detect through traditional network monitoring approaches.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple data theft or modification, as it enables attackers to perform arbitrary actions within the scope of user privileges, potentially leading to complete system compromise or service disruption. An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this vulnerability to execute unauthorized operations that might include creating new user accounts, modifying existing configurations, or even deleting critical system components. The implications are particularly severe for enterprise environments that rely on Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning Tool for managing their communication infrastructure, as successful exploitation could result in service outages, data breaches, or unauthorized access to sensitive collaboration services. This vulnerability directly maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1078 Valid Accounts for maintaining persistence and T1566 Phishing for initial access, while also enabling T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter for executing malicious commands through the compromised interface.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including deploying web application firewalls that can detect and block CSRF attacks, implementing proper CSRF tokens in all web forms, and ensuring that the application is running the latest available security patches from Cisco. The recommended approach involves configuring the system to validate the referer header and implement anti-CSRF tokens that are unique to each user session, thereby preventing attackers from crafting valid requests that can be executed without user knowledge or consent. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls should be reviewed to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation, while security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns of web-based activity that might indicate CSRF attack attempts. Cisco has addressed this vulnerability through software updates that include proper CSRF protection mechanisms, and organizations should prioritize upgrading to patched versions to eliminate this exposure.