CVE-2018-15401 in Hosted Collaboration Mediation Fulfillment
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Hosted Collaboration Mediation Fulfillment could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct a cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attack and perform arbitrary actions on an affected system. The vulnerability is due to insufficient CSRF protections for the web-based management interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by persuading a user of the interface to follow a malicious link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to perform arbitrary actions on an affected system via a web browser and with the privileges of the user.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/30/2020
Cisco Hosted Collaboration Mediation Fulfillment represents a critical component in enterprise communication infrastructure that manages collaboration services including voice and video conferencing. This system operates through a web-based management interface that administrators use to configure and monitor services. The vulnerability resides within the authentication and authorization mechanisms of this interface, specifically lacking robust cross-site request forgery protections that are fundamental to web application security. The flaw enables attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions through deceptive means, exploiting the trust relationship between the web interface and legitimate users.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of request origins and the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens within the web interface. When users navigate to the management interface, the system should verify that requests originate from legitimate sources and contain valid security tokens that prevent unauthorized actions. However, the affected Cisco system fails to implement these critical protections consistently across all administrative functions. An attacker can craft malicious links that, when clicked by an authenticated user, automatically submit requests to the target system without the user's knowledge or consent. This occurs because the web interface does not properly validate the referer header or implement stateful anti-CSRF mechanisms that would detect and block such unauthorized requests.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it allows attackers to perform arbitrary administrative actions with the privileges of the compromised user. This includes modifying system configurations, creating new user accounts, accessing sensitive data, or even disabling critical services. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it requires minimal technical skill and can be executed through social engineering campaigns targeting administrators. The vulnerability affects the entire scope of the management interface, making it a high-value target for attackers seeking to compromise the entire collaboration infrastructure. Organizations using this system face potential service disruption, data breaches, and unauthorized access to critical communication resources.
Security professionals should implement multiple layers of protection to address this vulnerability, beginning with immediate patching of affected systems to ensure proper CSRF token implementation. Network segmentation and access controls should be reviewed to limit exposure of the management interface to trusted networks only. Monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect unusual administrative activities that might indicate CSRF exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery, and represents a common weakness in web applications that has been documented in numerous security frameworks. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to TA0001 Initial Access and TA0003 Persistence, as attackers can use CSRF to gain initial access and establish persistent control over the affected system. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block malicious CSRF requests, while conducting regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other web-based management interfaces.