CVE-2016-6397
📋 TL;DR
An authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco IPICS Universal Media Services allows unauthenticated remote attackers to modify configuration parameters and cause denial of service. This affects Cisco IPICS releases 4.8(1) through 4.10(1). Attackers can exploit this without credentials via the interdevice communications interface.
💻 Affected Systems
- Cisco IP Interoperability and Collaboration System (IPICS) Universal Media Services (UMS)
📦 What is this software?
Ip Interoperability And Collaboration System by Cisco
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Ip Interoperability And Collaboration System by Cisco
View all CVEs affecting Ip Interoperability And Collaboration System →
Ip Interoperability And Collaboration System by Cisco
View all CVEs affecting Ip Interoperability And Collaboration System →
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise allowing attackers to modify all UMS configuration parameters, render the system unavailable, and potentially pivot to other network systems.
Likely Case
Attackers modify critical configuration parameters causing system unavailability and service disruption to IPICS communications.
If Mitigated
With proper network segmentation and access controls, impact is limited to the UMS component only.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability requires no authentication and has been publicly disclosed, making exploitation relatively straightforward for attackers with network access.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Cisco IPICS releases 4.10(2) and later
Vendor Advisory: https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20161026-ipics
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download Cisco IPICS release 4.10(2) or later from Cisco Software Center. 2. Follow Cisco IPICS upgrade procedures documented in the installation guide. 3. Apply the update to all affected UMS servers. 4. Restart services as required by the upgrade process.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Segmentation
allRestrict network access to the UMS interdevice communications interface to trusted systems only.
Access Control Lists
allImplement ACLs to limit which IP addresses can communicate with the UMS interface.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate the UMS server in a dedicated VLAN with strict firewall rules allowing only necessary communications
- Implement network monitoring and intrusion detection specifically for traffic to the UMS interdevice interface
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Cisco IPICS version via the administration interface or CLI. If version is between 4.8(1) and 4.10(1) inclusive, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
show version (from Cisco IPICS CLI) or check via administration web interfaceVerify Fix Applied:
After patching, verify the system is running Cisco IPICS release 4.10(2) or later and test UMS functionality.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthenticated access attempts to UMS configuration interfaces
- Unexpected configuration changes to UMS parameters
- UMS service restart or failure events
Network Indicators:
- Unusual traffic patterns to UMS interdevice communications port
- Configuration modification requests from unauthorized sources
SIEM Query:
source="ipics-ums" AND (event_type="config_change" OR event_type="auth_failure") AND src_ip NOT IN (trusted_ips)