Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Session Management Edition Static SSH Credentials Vulnerability Allowing Root Access

A vulnerability exists in Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM) and Cisco Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition (Unified CM SME) Engineering Special releases 15.0.1.13010-1 through 15.0.1.13017-1. This vulnerability allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to an affected device using the root account, which has default, static credentials that cannot be changed or deleted. The vulnerability arises from the presence of static user credentials for the root account, reserved for development use. Exploitation of this vulnerability could enable an attacker to execute arbitrary commands as the root user on the affected system.

Impact

Successful exploitation allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in as the root user and execute arbitrary commands with root privileges.

Remediation

Cisco has released free software updates that address this vulnerability. Customers with service contracts should obtain these security fixes through their usual update channels. For those without service contracts, contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) for upgrades.