CVE-2018-0288 in WebEx Recording Format Player
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in Cisco WebEx Recording Format (WRF) Player could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to access sensitive data about the application. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to gain information to conduct additional reconnaissance attacks. The vulnerability is due to a design flaw in Cisco WRF Player. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by utilizing a maliciously crafted file that could bypass checks in the code and enable an attacker to read memory from outside the bounds of the mapped file. This vulnerability affects Cisco WebEx Business Suite meeting sites, Cisco WebEx Meetings sites, and Cisco WebEx WRF players. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvh89107, CSCvh89113, CSCvh89132, CSCvh89142.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/08/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-0288 represents a critical design flaw within Cisco WebEx Recording Format (WRF) Player that exposes sensitive application information to unauthenticated remote attackers. This weakness specifically affects Cisco WebEx Business Suite meeting sites, Cisco WebEx Meetings sites, and Cisco WebEx WRF players, creating a significant attack surface for malicious actors seeking to gather intelligence about the affected systems. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms within the WRF player implementation, allowing attackers to manipulate file parsing operations through carefully crafted malicious files.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through memory corruption techniques that bypass normal code validation checks. Attackers can construct specially formatted WRF files that cause the player to read memory locations beyond the boundaries of mapped file regions, effectively enabling information disclosure attacks. This memory access violation allows unauthorized retrieval of sensitive data that should remain protected within the application's memory space, including potentially sensitive configuration details, internal application structures, or other confidential information that could be leveraged for further exploitation. The flaw operates at the application level parsing layer where file format validation fails to properly constrain memory access patterns during file processing operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the leaked data could provide attackers with crucial insights for planning more sophisticated attacks against the WebEx infrastructure. The disclosed information might include application version details, memory layout information, or other structural elements that could be used to develop more targeted exploits against the same or related systems. This reconnaissance capability significantly increases the risk profile for organizations using affected WebEx implementations, as attackers can use the gathered intelligence to refine their attack vectors and potentially escalate privileges or access additional system resources.
Organizations affected by CVE-2018-0288 should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest security patches from Cisco, which address the underlying memory access violation in the WRF player implementation. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit exposure of WebEx services to untrusted networks, while monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect anomalous file access patterns or attempts to exploit the vulnerability. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read) and represents a classic example of how insufficient input validation can lead to information disclosure vulnerabilities that enable more sophisticated attack chains, potentially mapping to ATT&CK techniques related to reconnaissance and credential access through information gathering activities.