CVE-2019-15289 in TelePresence Collaboration Endpoint
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple vulnerabilities in the video service of Cisco TelePresence Collaboration Endpoint (CE) and Cisco RoomOS Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerabilities are due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by sending crafted traffic to the video service of an affected endpoint. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the video service to crash, resulting in a DoS condition on an affected device.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/23/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-15289 affects Cisco TelePresence Collaboration Endpoint devices and Cisco RoomOS Software, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the reliability and availability of video conferencing systems. These endpoints serve as fundamental components in enterprise communication infrastructures, making their stability crucial for business continuity. The affected systems operate within the realm of unified communications where video services form the backbone of collaborative workflows, making them attractive targets for malicious actors seeking to disrupt operations. The vulnerability exists within the video service component of these devices, which processes incoming multimedia traffic and manages the visual aspects of video conferencing sessions.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the video service implementation. This weakness allows the system to process malformed or unexpected data without proper sanitization checks, creating an entry point for malicious actors to inject crafted payloads. The insufficient validation occurs at multiple layers of the video service processing pipeline, where incoming data streams are not adequately filtered or verified before being processed. This flaw aligns with CWE-20, which categorizes improper input validation as a fundamental weakness in software design that enables various attack vectors including buffer overflows, injection attacks, and service disruption. The vulnerability demonstrates poor defensive programming practices where the system assumes all incoming data is legitimate without performing necessary validation checks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables unauthenticated remote attackers to trigger denial of service conditions on affected devices. Attackers can exploit this weakness by sending specially crafted traffic packets to the video service port, which then causes the service to crash and become unavailable. This disruption affects not just the video functionality but can potentially cascade into broader system failures since video services often interconnect with other communication components. The DoS condition can persist until manual intervention or system reboot occurs, creating extended downtime for critical collaboration services. Organizations relying on these endpoints for business-critical meetings, training sessions, and remote work capabilities face substantial operational disruption when affected.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patch deployment as provided by Cisco security advisories, which address the input validation deficiencies through code updates. Network segmentation and access control measures can help reduce the attack surface by limiting direct access to video service ports from untrusted networks. Implementing intrusion detection systems that monitor for anomalous traffic patterns on video service endpoints can provide early warning of exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider disabling unnecessary video service features and implementing strict firewall rules that only allow traffic from known trusted sources. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under T1499.004 for network denial of service, and the exploitation technique aligns with T1566.001 for spearphishing with a link, suggesting that attackers may use social engineering to gain initial access before exploiting this specific vulnerability. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify similar input validation weaknesses in other network components, as this represents a common pattern in software development that requires continuous vigilance.