Cisco Webex Meetings Desktop App Update Service Command Injection Vulnerability

Vulnerability

CVE-2018-15442 is a command injection vulnerability in the update service of Cisco Webex Meetings Desktop App for Windows. The issue resides in insufficient validation of user-supplied parameters, allowing a crafted argument to be passed to the update service command. Affected versions include Cisco Webex Meetings Desktop App releases prior to the fix provided in Cisco security advisory cisco-sa-20181024-webex-injection [3]. Local or domain-authenticated users can trigger the vulnerable code path.

Exploitation

An attacker must have valid authentication on the target Windows system, either via local credentials or a domain account. In Active Directory environments, the attack vector can be remote using built-in Windows remote management tools. The exploit involves invoking the update service command with a specially crafted argument. The Metasploit modules [1][2] demonstrate that the service webexservice runs as SYSTEM and can be started by limited users by default, enabling arbitrary command execution without additional privileges.

Impact

Successful exploitation allows an attacker to execute arbitrary commands with SYSTEM user privileges, the highest level of access on a Windows host. This results in complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA) of the affected system, including the ability to install programs, create accounts, and access or modify all data [3].

Mitigation

Cisco has released free software updates to address this vulnerability, as documented in Cisco Security Advisory cisco-sa-20181024-webex-injection [3]. Users should upgrade to the fixed versions specified in the advisory. No workarounds are provided, and the vulnerability is not listed in the KEV catalog as of the advisory date. System administrators should also consider limiting local user permissions and applying network segmentation to reduce exposure in domain environments.