AV:R/AC:L/Au:R/C:P/I:P/A:N/B:N/E:F/RL:O/RC:C
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The Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS) works in conjunction with Cisco Aironet Lightweight Access Points, Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers, and the Cisco Wireless Location Appliance by providing tools for wireless LAN planning and design, system configuration, location tracking, security monitoring, and wireless LAN management. Cisco WCS contains multiple vulnerabilities that can result in information disclosure, privilege escalation, and unauthorized access through fixed authentication credentials.
Cisco has released software updates that address these vulnerabilities. Workarounds that mitigate these vulnerabilities are available.
This advisory is posted at https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20070412-wcs.
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Vulnerable Products
Versions of WCS prior to 4.0.96.0 are affected by one or more of these vulnerabilities. To identify the first fixed version for a specific Cisco Bug ID, please see the Software Versions and Fixes section of this advisory.
To determine the version of WCS running in a given environment, take the following steps:
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Log in to the WCS graphical web interface.
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From the menu, select Help > About the
Software.
Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable
No other Cisco products are currently known to be affected by these vulnerabilities.
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Log in to the WCS graphical web interface.
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The Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS) works in conjunction with Cisco Aironet Lightweight Access Points, Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers, and the Cisco Wireless Location Appliance by providing tools for wireless LAN planning and design, system configuration, location tracking, security monitoring, and wireless LAN management. Cisco WCS contains the following vulnerabilities:
Fixed FTP Credentials For WCS Location Backup
WCS can be configured to back up the data stored on the Cisco Wireless Location Appliance via FTP. Affected versions of WCS include a fixed user name and password for this backup operation; these credentials cannot be changed or disabled. Knowledge of these credentials, when combined with other properties of the FTP server, could allow an attacker to read from and write to arbitrary files on the server hosting the WCS application. In some cases, this could be leveraged to alter system files and compromise the server. This vulnerability is documented by Cisco Bug ID CSCse93014 ( registered customers only) .
Account Group Privilege Escalation
The WCS authentication system contains a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows any user with a valid user name and password to change their account group membership. For example, a user in the "LobbyAmbassador" group can add themselves to the "SuperUsers" group. This privilege escalation can allow full administrative control of WCS and the wireless networks it manages. This vulnerability is documented by Cisco Bug IDs CSCse78596 and CSCsg05190 ( registered customers only) .
Information Disclosure to Unauthenticated Users
On affected versions of WCS, several directories within the WCS page hierarchy are not password protected and could be accessed by an unauthenticated user. Although the information available would not allow an attacker to gain access to WCS, it would be possible to obtain information about the organization of the network, including access point locations. This vulnerability is documented by Cisco Bug ID CSCsg04301 ( registered customers only) .
Vulnerability Scoring Details
Cisco is providing scores for the vulnerabilities in this advisory based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
Cisco will provide a base and temporal score. Customers can then compute environmental scores to assist in determining the impact of the vulnerability in individual networks.
Cisco PSIRT will set the bias in all cases to normal. Customers are encouraged to apply the bias parameter when determining the environmental impact of a particular vulnerability.
CVSS is a standards based scoring method that conveys vulnerability severity and helps determine urgency and priority of response.
Cisco has provided an FAQ to answer additional questions regarding CVSS at http://www.cisco.com/web/about/security/intelligence/cvss-qandas.html.
Cisco has also provided a CVSS calculator to help compute the environmental impact for individual networks at https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/cvssCalculator.x.
CSCse93014 ( registered customers only)
Calculate the environmental score of CSCse93014
CVSS Base Score - 10
Access Vector
Access Complexity
Authentication
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact
Impact Bias
Remote
Low
Not Required
Complete
Complete
Complete
Normal
CVSS Temporal Score - 8.3
Exploitability
Remediation Level
Report Confidence
Functional
Official Fix
Confirmed
CSCse78596 ( registered customers only)
Calculate the environmental score of CSCse78596
CVSS Base Score - 2.8
Access Vector
Access Complexity
Authentication
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact
Impact Bias
Remote
Low
Required
Partial
Partial
None
Normal
CVSS Temporal Score - 2.3
Exploitability
Remediation Level
Report Confidence
Functional
Official Fix
Confirmed
CSCsg05190 ( registered customers only)
Calculate the environmental score of CSCsg05190
CVSS Base Score - 6
Access Vector
Access Complexity
Authentication
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact
Impact Bias
Remote
Low
Required
Complete
Complete
Complete
Normal
CVSS Temporal Score - 5
Exploitability
Remediation Level
Report Confidence
Functional
Official Fix
Confirmed
CSCsg04301 ( registered customers only)
Calculate the environmental score of CSCsg04301
CVSS Base Score - 2.3
Access Vector
Access Complexity
Authentication
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact
Impact Bias
Remote
Low
Not Required
Partial
None
None
Normal
CVSS Temporal Score - 1.9
Exploitability
Remediation Level
Report Confidence
Functional
Official Fix
Confirmed
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This section describes workarounds for these vulnerabilities.
Fixed FTP Credentials for WCS Location Backup
There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
Account Group Privilege Escalation
As a workaround, customers can remove the accounts of users who access Cisco WCS from high-risk locations such as publicly accessible building lobbies.
Information Disclosure to Unauthenticated Users
There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
Additional Workarounds
Additional mitigations that can be deployed on Cisco devices within the network are available in the Cisco Applied Mitigation Bulletin companion document for this advisory: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoAppliedMitigationBulletin/cisco-amb-20070412-wcs
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When considering software upgrades, also consult http://www.cisco.com/go/psirt and any subsequent advisories to determine exposure and a complete upgrade solution.
In all cases, customers should exercise caution to be certain the devices to be upgraded contain sufficient memory and that current hardware and software configurations will continue to be supported properly by the new release. If the information is not clear, contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center ("TAC") or your contracted maintenance provider for assistance.
Each row of the software table (below) describes the earliest software version that contains the fix (the "First Fixed Release") and the anticipated date of availability when fixes are not available. A device running a version that is earlier than the First Fixed Release is known to be vulnerable. The release should be upgraded at least to the indicated version (greater than or equal to the First Fixed Release label).
Note: Customers who currently run Cisco WCS 3.x are strongly encouraged to obtain a PAK certificate before they begin the upgrade process. For more information, please read the information under Special Note for Customers Upgrading to Cisco WCS Release 4.0.
Cisco Bug ID
First Fixed Release
CSCse93014
4.0.96.0
CSCse78596
4.0.81.0
CSCsg05190
4.0.87.0
CSCsg04301
4.0.66.0
Special Note for Customers Upgrading to Cisco WCS Release 4.0
To request a PAK certificate to upgrade customers or partners from a previous release of Cisco WCS to Release 4.0, contact the wcs-customer-license@cisco.com. Cisco will attempt to respond to requests to this alias within 48 hours Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM Pacific.
Note: This alias is only for issuing PAK certificates for Cisco WCS license upgrades. It is not for requesting TAC support, troubleshooting, ordering issues, or customer service issues.
Please include in the email to request the PAK certificate:
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Customer name
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Customer email
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Company name
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Exact Cisco WCS SKUs to be upgraded
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Quantity of each Cisco WCS SKU
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Cisco sales order number
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Service contract number (SAU/SASU)
For Technical Support Related to Licensing-Contact Cisco TAC at (800) 553-2447 tac@cisco.com.
For Licensing Order Related Issues-Contact Cisco customer service at http://www.cisco.com/go/customerservice.
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Customer name
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The Cisco PSIRT is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerabilities described in this advisory.
These vulnerabilities were discovered via internal testing and during the investigation of customer support cases.
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To learn about Cisco security vulnerability disclosure policies and publications, see the Security Vulnerability Policy. This document also contains instructions for obtaining fixed software and receiving security vulnerability information from Cisco.
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Revision 1.1
2007-April-14
Minor grammatical changes.
Revision 1.0
2007-April-12
Initial public release.
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