CVE-2018-11636 in PowerMedia XMS
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the administrative console in Dialogic PowerMedia XMS through 3.5 allows remote attackers to execute malicious and unauthorized actions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/24/2020
The CVE-2018-11636 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the administrative console of Dialogic PowerMedia XMS versions 3.5 and earlier. This vulnerability resides in the web-based management interface that administrators use to configure and control the media processing platform. The flaw stems from the application's failure to properly validate and authenticate requests originating from authenticated sessions, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit the system's administrative functions without proper authorization. The vulnerability specifically affects the administrative console component that handles user management, configuration changes, and system control operations, making it particularly dangerous for organizations relying on this platform for voice and video communication services.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability occurs when the administrative console fails to implement proper anti-CSRF tokens or other validation mechanisms for state-changing operations. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or send specially crafted requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator, perform unauthorized actions within the application context. This typically involves leveraging the victim's existing authenticated session to execute commands that the attacker cannot normally access directly. The vulnerability exists because the application trusts requests that originate from authenticated sessions without sufficient verification of the request source or intent, creating a fundamental flaw in the application's security model. This weakness aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities in web applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it can enable attackers to completely compromise the administrative capabilities of the Dialogic PowerMedia XMS platform. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to modify system configurations, add or remove users, change system settings, or potentially gain complete control over the media processing infrastructure. This represents a significant risk for organizations using the platform for mission-critical communications, as attackers could disrupt services, exfiltrate sensitive data, or establish persistent access points within the network. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects the administrative console, which typically has the highest privileges within the system, potentially allowing attackers to escalate their access and compromise other connected systems.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches and updates for Dialogic PowerMedia XMS versions 3.5 and earlier, as well as implementing additional security controls such as network segmentation to isolate the administrative console from untrusted networks. The implementation of proper anti-CSRF tokens and validation mechanisms should be enforced across all administrative interfaces, following security best practices outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity guidelines. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious administrative activities, and multi-factor authentication should be implemented for administrative access to reduce the impact of potential credential compromise. Additionally, regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities within the platform and ensure that security controls remain effective against evolving threats. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of implementing comprehensive security controls in administrative interfaces and aligns with ATT&CK techniques related to privilege escalation and credential access.