Cisco Voice Operating System-Based Products Unauthorized Access Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the upgrade mechanism of Cisco collaboration products based on the Cisco Voice Operating System software platform could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to gain unauthorized, elevated access to an affected device.

The vulnerability occurs when a refresh upgrade or Prime Collaboration Deployment (PCD) migration is performed on an affected device. When a refresh upgrade or PCD migration is completed successfully, an engineering flag remains enabled and could allow root access to the device with a known password.

If the vulnerable device is subsequently upgraded using the standard upgrade method to an Engineering Special Release, service update, or a new major release of the affected product, this vulnerability is remediated by that action.

Note: Engineering Special Releases that are installed as COP files, as opposed to the standard upgrade method, do not remediate this vulnerability.

An attacker who can access an affected device over SFTP while it is in a vulnerable state could gain root access to the device. This access could allow the attacker to compromise the affected system completely.

Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

This advisory is available at the following link:
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20171115-vos

• Vulnerable Products

  This vulnerability affects the following Cisco Voice Operating System (VOS)–based products when they have been upgraded by using the refresh upgrade (RU) method or migrated by using the Prime Collaboration Deployment (PCD) method:

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (UCM)
  • Cisco Unified Communication Manager Session Management Edition (SME)
  • Cisco Emergency Responder
  • Cisco Unity Connection
  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service (IM&P; earlier releases were known as Cisco Unified Presence)
  • Cisco Prime License Manager
  • Cisco Hosted Collaboration Mediation Fulfillment
  • Cisco Unified Contact Center Express (UCCx)
  • Cisco SocialMiner
  • Cisco Unified Intelligence Center (UIC)
  • Cisco Finesse
  • Cisco MediaSense

  
  
  
  
  The PCD migration method affects only Cisco UCM, SME, and IM&P.

  Determining the Upgrade or Migration Method

  The Cisco VOS-based products identified in the preceding vulnerable products list are affected by this vulnerability if they were refresh upgraded or migrated by using the PCD methods. Note that a VOS-based product must go through a refresh upgrade if the underlying operating system is also being upgraded to a new major release.

  If the VOS-based product was standard upgraded to an Engineering Special, service update, or a new major release of the affected product that does not require major upgrades to the underlying operating system, this vulnerability will be remediated by that standard upgrade action.

  Refresh Upgrade Method Verification

  To verify whether the product has been exposed to the vulnerability by the refresh upgrade method, issue the following command at the CLI to view the system-history.log file:

  admin: file view install system-history.log

  The following example shows a refresh upgrade entry in the system-history.log file:

  02/28/2013 14:56:05 | root: Upgrade (refresh) 10.0.0.97016-27 Success

  The following example shows a standard upgrade entry in the system-history.log file:

  10/13/2017 18:56:07 | root: Upgrade 12.0.1.20000-3 Success

  PCD Migration Method Verification

  To verify whether the product has been exposed to this vulnerability by the PCD migration method, issue the following command at the CLI to view the install.log file:

  admin: file view install install.log

  The following example shows a PCD migration log entry in the install.log file:

  10/16/2017 13:59:13 post_install|Starting post_install processing - VOS_INSTALL_CONTEXT = M1|

  The following example shows a normal fresh install log entry in the install.log file:

  08/15/2011 08:56:03 post_install|Starting post_install processing - VOS_INSTALL_CONTEXT = install|

  Underlying Operating System Upgraded to a New Major Release

  A VOS-based product will undergo a refresh upgrade if the underlying operating system is also upgraded to a new major release.

  The following examples show major operating system releases that are associated with major affected product releases:

  Cisco UCM, Cisco Unity Connection, and Cisco Unified Presence Server/Cisco IM&P Major Release	Operating System Major Release
  8.6	RHEL 5 Update 5
  9.x	RHEL 5 Update 7
  10.x	RHEL 6 Update 2
  11.x	RHEL 6 Update 5
  12.x	CentOS 6 Update 6

  Because an upgrade from RHEL 6 to CentOS 6 is not considered a major operating system release change, product updates between these operating system releases will use the standard upgrade method.

  Prime Collaboration Deployment Cluster Migration

  Prime Collaboration Deployment is a free application that is designed to assist in the management of various Cisco Unified Communications applications. The PCD migrate cluster task is supported only for the following Cisco products and to only certain cluster migration destination versions.

  • UCM destination version 10.x, 11.0(1), 11.5(x), 12.0(1)
  • IM&P destination version 10.x, 11.0(1), 11.5(x), 12.0(1)

  Refer to the product documentation for information about specific upgrade and migration methods.

  Determining the Current Software Release for the Cisco Unified Platform

  The following Cisco products run on the Cisco Unified platform:

  • Unified Communications Manager
  • Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition
  • Emergency Responder
  • Unity Connection
  • Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service
  • Prime License Manager
  • Hosted Collaboration Mediation Fulfillment

  To determine which Cisco VOS-based product software release is running on the Cisco Unified platform, an administrator can issue the show version active command at the CLI.

  In the following example, the software release is 11.5.1.10000-86.

  ciscocm: show version active
  Active Master Version: 11.5.1.10000-86

  An administrator can use the user interface to determine which Cisco VOS-based product software release is running:

  1. Log in to the web-based interface
  2. Click the Help menu
  3. Click About to view the system software release

  Determining the Current Software Release for the Cisco Contact Center Platform

  The following Cisco products run on the Cisco Contact Center platform:

  • Unified Contact Center Express
  • SocialMiner
  • Unified Intelligence Center
  • Finesse
  • MediaSense

  To determine which Cisco VOS-based product software release is running on the Contact Center platform, an administrator can issue the show version active command at the CLI.

  In the following example, the software release is 11.5.1.10000-86.

  admin: show version active
  Active Master Version: 11.5.1.10000-86

  An administrator can use the user interface to determine which Cisco Contact Center platform–based product software release is running:

  1. Log in to the Contact Center Express server
  2. Go to the Cisco Unified Communications operating system administration window
  3. Choose Show > Software

  Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable

  No other Cisco products are currently known to be affected by this vulnerability.

  Cisco has confirmed that this vulnerability does not affect the following products:

  • Cisco Identity Service (IdS) 11.5 and 11.6
  • Cisco Prime Collaboration Deployment
  • Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning
  • Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance
  • Cisco Virtualized Voice Browser

• There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

• Cisco has released free software updates that address the vulnerability described in this advisory. Customers may only install and expect support for software versions and feature sets for which they have purchased a license. By installing, downloading, accessing, or otherwise using such software upgrades, customers agree to follow the terms of the Cisco software license:
  http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/general/warranty/English/EU1KEN_.html

Additionally, customers may only download software for which they have a valid license, procured from Cisco directly, or through a Cisco authorized reseller or partner. In most cases this will be a maintenance upgrade to software that was previously purchased. Free security software updates do not entitle customers to a new software license, additional software feature sets, or major revision upgrades.

When considering software upgrades, customers are advised to regularly consult the advisories for Cisco products, which are available from the Cisco Security Advisories and Alerts page, to determine exposure and a complete upgrade solution.

In all cases, customers should ensure that the devices to be upgraded contain sufficient memory and confirm that current hardware and software configurations will continue to be supported properly by the new release. If the information is not clear, customers are advised to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) or their contracted maintenance providers.

Customers Without Service Contracts

Customers who purchase directly from Cisco but do not hold a Cisco service contract and customers who make purchases through third-party vendors but are unsuccessful in obtaining fixed software through their point of sale should obtain upgrades by contacting the Cisco TAC:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/support/tsd_cisco_worldwide_contacts.html

Customers should have the product serial number available and be prepared to provide the URL of this advisory as evidence of entitlement to a free upgrade.

Fixed Releases and Software Downloads

Cisco Unified Communications Manager – Cisco Bug ID CSCvg22923

Cisco Unified Communications Manager software can be downloaded from the Software Center on Cisco.com by navigating to Products > Unified Communications > Call Control > Unified Communications Manager (CallManager).

Cisco Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition – Cisco Bug ID CSCvg22923

Cisco Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition (SME) software can be downloaded from the Software Center on Cisco.com by navigating to Products > Unified Communications > Call Control > Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition > Unified Communications Manager / Cisco Unity Connection Utilities.

Cisco Emergency Responder – Cisco Bug ID CSCvg55112

Cisco Emergency Responder software can be downloaded from the Software Center on Cisco.com by navigating to Products > Unified Communications > Telephony Extensions > Emergency Responder.

Cisco Unity Connection – Cisco Bug ID CSCvg55128

Cisco Unity Connection software can be downloaded from the Software Center on Cisco.com by navigating to Products > Unified Communications > Unified Communications Applications > Messaging > Unity Connection.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service – Cisco Bug ID CSCvg22923

Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service software can be downloaded from the Software Center on Cisco.com by navigating to Products > Unified Communications > Unified Communications Applications > Presence Software > Unified Communications Manager IM & Presence Service.

Cisco Prime License Manager – Cisco Bug ID CSCvg58619

Cisco Prime License Manager software can be downloaded from the Software Center on Cisco.com by navigating to Products > Unified Communications > Unified Communications Management > Prime License Manager > Prime License Manager Software Updates.

Cisco Hosted Collaboration Mediation Fulfillment – Cisco Bug ID CSCvg68797

Cisco Hosted Collaboration Mediation Fulfillment software can be downloaded from the Software Center on Cisco.com by navigating to Products > Unified Communications > Call Control > Hosted Collaboration > Hosted Collaboration Solution (HCS).

Cisco Unified Contact Center Express – Cisco Bug ID CSCvg55145

Cisco Unified Contact Center Express software can be downloaded from the Software Center on Cisco.com by navigating to Products > Customer Collaboration > Contact Center Solutions > Unified Contact Center Express.

Cisco SocialMiner – Cisco Bug ID CSCvg64453

Cisco SocialMiner software can be downloaded from the Software Center on Cisco.com by navigating to Products > Customer Collaboration > Options for Contact Center Solutions > SocialMiner > SocialMiner Software.

Cisco Unified Intelligence Center and Cisco Unified Intelligence Center with Live Data – Cisco Bug ID CSCvg64464

Cisco Unified Intelligence Center software can be downloaded from the Software Center on Cisco.com by navigating to Products > Customer Collaboration > Options for Contact Center Solutions > Unified Intelligence Center > Unified Intelligence Center Software.

Cisco Finesse – Cisco Bug ID CSCvg64475

Cisco Finesse software can be downloaded from the Software Center on Cisco.com by navigating to Products > Customer Collaboration > Options for Contact Center Solutions > Finesse > Finesse Software.

Cisco MediaSense – Cisco Bug ID CSCvg64456

Cisco MediaSense software can be downloaded from the Software Center on Cisco.com by navigating to Products > Customer Collaboration > Options for Contact Center Solutions > MediaSense > MediaSense Software.

• The Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerability that is described in this advisory.
  
  
  
  

  

Duncan

Duncan is a technology professional with over 20 years experience of working in various IT roles. He has a interest in cyber security, and has a wide range of other skills in radio, electronics and telecommunications.