Summary

• Cisco CallManager (CCM) is the software-based call-processing component of the Cisco IP telephony solution which extends enterprise telephony features and functions to packet telephony network devices such as IP phones, media processing devices, voice-over-IP (VoIP) gateways, and multimedia applications. Cisco CallManager versions with Multi Level Administration (MLA) enabled may be vulnerable to privilege escalations, which may result in read-only users gaining administrative access.

  Cisco has made free software available to address this vulnerability for affected customers. There are workarounds available to mitigate the effects of the vulnerability.

  This advisory is posted at https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20060118-ccmpe.

Affected Products

• This section provides details on affected products.

  Vulnerable Products

  These Cisco CallManager versions with Multi Level Administration (MLA) enabled are vulnerable:

  • Cisco CallManager 3.2 and earlier
    
  • Cisco CallManager 3.3, versions earlier than 3.3(5)SR1
    
  • Cisco CallManager 4.0, versions earlier than 4.0(2a)SR2c
    
  • Cisco CallManager 4.1, versions earlier than 4.1(3)SR2
    

  No other Cisco products are currently known to be affected by these vulnerabilities.

  Complete this procedure to check if Multi Level Administration is enabled:

  1. Access CCM Administration with this URL: http://<CCMServer>/ccmadmin, where <CCMServer> specifies the IP address or name of the Cisco CallManager server.
     
  2. Choose User > Access Rights > Configure MLA Parameters. The MLA Enterprise Parameter Configuration page displays.
     
  3. MLA is enabled if the Enable MultiLevelAdmin enterprise parameter is set to True.
     

  Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable

  No other Cisco products are currently known to be affected by these vulnerabilities.

Details

• An administrative user with read-only permission can use a crafted URL on the CCMAdmin web page to escalate privileges to a full administrative level. This vulnerability applies to users who are authenticated to the read-only administrative level. Users with no administrative access and users with full administrative permissions continue to work as expected.

  Administrative users with access privilege Read Only should not be confused with the standard User Group named "Read Only" which is created at installation. For further details on user groups and assigning access privileges, please refer to this URL: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/admin/4_1_3/ccmcfg/b07mla.html.

  • CSCef75361, CSCsb12765, CSCsb88649, CSCsc26275--CCMAdmin Read Only User Can Escalate Privileges
    

Workarounds

• It is possible to eliminate the ability for an attacker to escalate privileges from Read Only to Full Access without applying the service release by not using the Read Only access privilege, but instead only using the No Access or Full Access privileges. This is not an ideal solution, but can provide a temporary workaround.

  For detailed instructions on configuring the privileges for a User Group within Cisco CallManager 4.1(3) see the Multilevel Administration Access Configuration (http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/admin/4_1_3/ccmcfg/b07mla.html) section of the Cisco CallManager Administration Guide (http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/admin/4_1_3/ccmcfg/ccmcfg.html).

Fixed Software

• 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 Cisco CallManager software table (below) describes a release train which will address all of the vulnerabilities mentioned in this advisory. If a given release train is vulnerable, then the earliest possible releases that contain the fixes (the "First Fixed Release") and the anticipated date of availability for each are listed in the "Engineering Special," "Service Release," and "Maintenance Release" columns. A device running a Cisco CallManager release in the given train that is earlier than the release in a specific column (less than the First Fixed Release listed in the Engineering Special or Special Release column) is known to be vulnerable to one or more issues. The Cisco CallManager should be upgraded at least to the indicated release or a later version (greater than or equal to the First Fixed Release label).

  Version	Engineering Special	Service Release	Maintenance Release
  3.2 and earlier			migrate to 3.3 or later
  3.3	3.3(5)ES30	3.3(5)SR1a	no release planned
  4.0	4.0(2a)ES62	4.0(2a)SR2c	no release planned
  4.1	4.1(2)ES55 4.1(3)ES32	4.1(3)SR2	no release planned

Exploitation and Public Announcements

• The Cisco PSIRT is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerability described in this advisory.

  This vulnerability was reported to Cisco by CNLabs of Switzerland.

URL

• https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20060118-ccmpe

Revision History

• Revision 1.0

  2006-January-18

  Initial Public Release.

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