CVE-2019-1678 in Meeting Server
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in Cisco Meeting Server could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a partial denial of service (DoS) to Cisco Meetings application users who are paired with a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) endpoint. The vulnerability is due to improper validation of coSpaces configuration parameters. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by inserting crafted strings in specific coSpace parameters. An exploit could allow the attacker to prevent clients from joining a conference call in the affected coSpace. Versions prior to 2.4.3 are affected.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-1678 resides within Cisco Meeting Server, a critical component in enterprise communication infrastructures that facilitates video conferencing and collaboration services. This weakness represents a significant security concern as it affects the fundamental availability of communication services for organizations relying on Cisco's meeting platform. The vulnerability specifically targets the coSpaces configuration mechanism, which serves as the administrative interface for managing meeting spaces and their associated parameters. The affected system operates within the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) framework, which is the standard protocol for initiating, maintaining, and terminating real-time sessions that include voice, video, and messaging applications. This creates a cascading impact on enterprise communication networks where SIP endpoints are extensively deployed across organizations.
The technical flaw manifests through inadequate input validation mechanisms within the coSpaces configuration processing module. When an authenticated attacker successfully injects maliciously crafted strings into specific coSpace parameters, the system fails to properly sanitize or validate these inputs before processing them. This improper validation creates a condition where the system becomes vulnerable to manipulation of critical configuration values that control meeting space behavior. The vulnerability specifically affects parameter handling within the coSpaces configuration parameters, which are used to define meeting room characteristics, user permissions, and session management settings. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-20: Improper Input Validation, which represents one of the most common and dangerous classes of software vulnerabilities. The improper validation occurs at the application layer where user-supplied data is directly incorporated into system operations without adequate sanitization or parameter checking.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the integrity of enterprise communication systems. An authenticated remote attacker can exploit this weakness to cause a partial denial of service that specifically targets Cisco Meetings application users within affected coSpaces. The attack results in preventing legitimate clients from joining conference calls, effectively disrupting business operations and collaboration workflows. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where meeting spaces are frequently used for critical business communications, executive meetings, and cross-organizational collaboration. The partial denial of service means that while not all users are affected simultaneously, the targeted conference calls become unusable, creating operational bottlenecks and potentially significant business disruption. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1499.004: Endpoint Denial of Service, specifically targeting the availability of collaboration services and represents a privilege escalation scenario where authenticated access leads to service disruption.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement the remediation measures provided by Cisco, including upgrading to version 2.4.3 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the input validation issues. The patch addresses the root cause by implementing proper validation of coSpace parameters and ensuring that all user-supplied inputs are properly sanitized before being processed by the system. Network segmentation and access controls should be reviewed to limit the attack surface, as unauthorized access to authenticated user accounts could enable exploitation. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual parameter modifications in coSpaces configurations, and regular vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify similar input validation weaknesses. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation in enterprise systems and highlights how seemingly minor configuration flaws can have significant operational impacts on business continuity and communication availability. Organizations should also consider implementing additional logging and monitoring around coSpace configuration changes to detect potential exploitation attempts and maintain audit trails for security incident investigations.