A vulnerability in an API endpoint of multiple Cisco Unified Communications Products could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause high CPU utilization, which could impact access to the web-based management interface and cause delays with call processing. This API is not used for device management and is unlikely to be used in normal operations of the device. This vulnerability is due to improper API authentication and incomplete validation of the API request. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request to a specific API on the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition due to high CPU utilization, which could negatively impact user traffic and management access. When the attack stops, the device will recover without manual intervention.
The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency_responder | Cisco | 14su3 (including) | 14su3 (including) |
| Prime_collaboration_deployment | Cisco | 14su3 (including) | 14su3 (including) |
| Unified_communications_manager | Cisco | 12.5(1)su7 (including) | 12.5(1)su7 (including) |
| Unified_communications_manager | Cisco | 14su3 (including) | 14su3 (including) |
| Unified_communications_manager_im_&_presence_service | Cisco | 12.5(1)su7 (including) | 12.5(1)su7 (including) |
| Unified_communications_manager_im_&_presence_service | Cisco | 14su3 (including) | 14su3 (including) |
| Unity_connection | Cisco | 14su3 (including) | 14su3 (including) |
Mitigation of resource exhaustion attacks requires that the target system either:
The first of these solutions is an issue in itself though, since it may allow attackers to prevent the use of the system by a particular valid user. If the attacker impersonates the valid user, they may be able to prevent the user from accessing the server in question.
The second solution is simply difficult to effectively institute – and even when properly done, it does not provide a full solution. It simply makes the attack require more resources on the part of the attacker.