CVE-2018-15438 in Prime Collaboration Assurance
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance 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 of the affected software. 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 use a web browser to perform arbitrary actions with the privileges of the user on an affected system.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/30/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-15438 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance's web-based management interface. This system serves as a comprehensive monitoring and management platform for collaboration environments, making it a prime target for adversaries seeking to compromise enterprise communication infrastructures. The vulnerability stems from inadequate CSRF protection mechanisms that fail to validate the origin of requests made through the web interface, creating a pathway for malicious actors to manipulate authenticated sessions without proper authorization. The affected software operates within enterprise networks where it manages critical collaboration services including voice and video communication systems, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for organizations relying on Cisco's unified communications solutions.
The technical implementation of this flaw lies in the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms within the web application's request processing flow. When users interact with the web-based management interface, legitimate requests should be validated against expected token values or referer headers to ensure they originate from authorized sources. However, the Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance interface fails to implement these protective measures consistently across its management endpoints. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or send specially crafted links that, when clicked by an authenticated user, automatically submit requests to the vulnerable interface. This exploitation technique leverages the user's existing session and privileges, effectively allowing the attacker to perform administrative actions such as modifying configurations, accessing sensitive data, or even disabling critical services without requiring authentication credentials.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it can enable comprehensive system compromise within enterprise environments. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability could potentially alter collaboration system configurations, modify user permissions, access confidential communication data, or disrupt service availability. The unauthenticated nature of the attack means that adversaries do not need to establish initial access to the system, as they can manipulate any authenticated user session that visits malicious content. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where users may be less security-aware and more likely to click on suspicious links. The attack vector typically involves social engineering campaigns where users are tricked into clicking malicious links through phishing emails, compromised websites, or malicious collaboration tools that contain embedded attack payloads.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including the deployment of web application firewalls that can detect and block CSRF attack patterns, the implementation of proper CSRF token validation mechanisms, and the enforcement of strict referer header checking. Network segmentation and user access controls should be reviewed to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery issues in web applications, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and privilege escalation through legitimate credentials. Cisco released patches and updates to address this vulnerability, emphasizing the importance of maintaining current software versions and implementing robust security controls. Organizations should also conduct security awareness training to help users recognize potential CSRF attack vectors and implement monitoring solutions to detect suspicious web traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts.