CVE-2022-20680 in Prime Service Catalog
Summary
by MITRE • 02/10/2022
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Prime Service Catalog could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to access sensitive information on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper enforcement of Administrator privilege levels for low-value sensitive data. An attacker with read-only Administrator access to the web-based management interface could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious HTTP request to the page that contains the sensitive data. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to collect sensitive information about users of the system and orders that have been placed using the application.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/14/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-20680 represents a critical access control flaw within Cisco Prime Service Catalog's web-based management interface. This system serves as a centralized platform for managing service catalogs and provisioning services within enterprise environments, making it a valuable target for threat actors seeking to extract sensitive operational data. The vulnerability stems from inadequate privilege enforcement mechanisms that fail to properly validate administrative access levels when processing requests for sensitive information. The flaw specifically affects the authorization controls implemented for low-value sensitive data, which according to the CWE-285 classification represents a weakness in authorization enforcement where the system does not adequately verify that users possess the appropriate privileges to access specific resources.
Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can leverage their existing read-only administrator credentials to craft malicious HTTP requests that bypass normal access controls for sensitive data elements. The attack vector involves targeting specific pages within the web interface that contain user information and order details, effectively allowing unauthorized data extraction through a simple HTTP request manipulation. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004 which covers valid accounts with insufficient privileges, where attackers exploit legitimate access to escalate their capabilities. The system's failure to implement proper access control validation creates a situation where an authenticated user with minimal privileges can obtain information that should be restricted to higher-privileged administrators.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the extracted data includes comprehensive user profiles and order history information that can be used for further attacks or reconnaissance activities. Attackers could potentially use this information for credential stuffing attacks, social engineering campaigns, or to identify other systems within the enterprise that might be vulnerable due to shared user credentials. The compromised data could include personal identifying information, service request patterns, and operational details that provide attackers with valuable insights into the organization's service delivery mechanisms. This vulnerability particularly affects environments where Cisco Prime Service Catalog is used for managing critical business services, as it could enable attackers to map service dependencies and identify potential attack vectors for more sophisticated exploitation.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including enforcing strict access control policies, implementing proper privilege separation, and conducting regular security audits of administrative interfaces. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of principle of least privilege enforcement and proper authorization validation as outlined in security frameworks such as NIST SP 800-53. Network segmentation and monitoring of administrative interface access should be enhanced to detect anomalous access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should ensure that all administrative interfaces implement proper input validation and access control mechanisms to prevent similar privilege escalation scenarios. Regular security assessments of web applications and enforcement of security patches should be prioritized to prevent exploitation of similar access control weaknesses that could compromise system integrity and data confidentiality.