CVE-2018-15449 in Video Surveillance Media Server
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Video Surveillance Media Server could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) of the web-based management interface of an affected system. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input by the web-based management interface of the affected service. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by persuading a user of the interface to click a malicious link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the web-based management interface to become unreachable, resulting in a DoS condition.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/05/2023
This vulnerability resides within the web-based management interface of Cisco Video Surveillance Media Server, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the system's availability and operational integrity. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the web interface, creating a pathway for malicious actors to disrupt service availability. The flaw specifically affects the authentication and session management components of the media server's web interface, where user-supplied inputs are not properly sanitized or validated before processing. This weakness allows attackers to manipulate the interface through crafted requests that exploit the insufficient validation controls.
The technical exploitation mechanism leverages a server-side request forgery or cross-site scripting attack vector where an unauthenticated remote attacker can craft malicious links designed to trigger the vulnerable input handling code. When a user interacts with the malicious link, the web interface processes the malformed input without proper validation, causing the system to enter an unstable state. The vulnerability operates at the application layer, specifically targeting the web server component responsible for managing video surveillance media server configurations and monitoring functions. This type of flaw is categorized under CWE-20, which represents "Improper Input Validation," a fundamental weakness that affects numerous web applications and systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it compromises the integrity of the video surveillance infrastructure that organizations rely upon for security monitoring. When the web-based management interface becomes unreachable, administrators lose access to critical system controls, configuration options, and monitoring capabilities. This DoS condition effectively renders the media server management functions unusable, potentially leaving surveillance systems vulnerable to security breaches or operational failures. The attack requires social engineering to convince users to click malicious links, making it particularly dangerous as it can bypass traditional network-level security controls and directly target the application layer.
Organizations should implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this vulnerability, including network segmentation to isolate critical surveillance infrastructure, regular security updates and patches, and enhanced web application firewall configurations. The mitigation strategy should focus on input validation improvements, including implementing proper sanitization of user inputs, regular security code reviews, and deployment of web application firewalls to detect and prevent malicious requests. Additionally, organizations should conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing to identify similar input validation vulnerabilities across their surveillance infrastructure. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499, which covers "Network Denial of Service" and demonstrates how web application flaws can be leveraged to compromise system availability. The remediation process requires immediate patch application from Cisco, along with comprehensive network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and proper user education to prevent social engineering attacks that exploit this vulnerability.