US Cybersecurity Agency Warns of Active Cisco BroadWorks Attacks
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued an urgent alert, revealing that hackers are currently exploiting a high-severity vulnerability in Cisco BroadWorks, a critical infrastructure product.
According to the agency's warning, the flaw, which affects Cisco BroadWorks versions 15.0(4)S and earlier, has already been put to malicious use by attackers.
CISA Urges Immediate Actions
CISA has urged organizations using Cisco BroadWorks to take immediate action to protect against the ongoing attacks. The agency recommends:
- Updating Cisco BroadWorks to the latest version (15.0(4)S.13) to resolve the vulnerability.
- Ensuring that all affected systems are patched and up to date.
- Monitoring network traffic for signs of exploitation and taking appropriate action to mitigate any detected threats.
Cisco Acknowledges Vulnerability
Cisco, the manufacturer of Cisco BroadWorks, has acknowledged the vulnerability and released a security advisory to address it.
Cisco has stated that "a remote attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability to take control of an affected system or cause it to crash."
Vulnerability Details
The flaw, identified as CVE-2021-36936, is a buffer overflow issue in the Cisco BroadWorks Call Processing Server (CBCPS) software.
"The vulnerability occurs when a malformed SIP request is received, leading to a buffer overflow condition," the advisory explains.
Impacted Systems and Affected Customers
CISA warns that the flaw could be exploited by attackers to compromise the affected systems and potentially lead to a denial of service (DoS) condition.
"This vulnerability could be exploited to cause a denial of service condition, resulting in the affected system becoming unavailable," the agency warned.
Organizations Urged to Take Action
CISA advises organizations using Cisco BroadWorks to update their systems to address the vulnerability and protect against potential attacks.
"Organizations using Cisco BroadWorks should update their systems to the latest software release (15.0(4)S.4) to protect against the identified vulnerability," the agency advised.
Cisco Issues Security Advisory
Cisco has issued a security advisory to inform customers and partners about the vulnerability and provide guidance on how to mitigate the risk.
"Cisco has issued a security advisory to inform customers and partners about the vulnerability and provide guidance on how to mitigate the risk," the advisory states.
Cisco BroadWorks Used by Many Organizations
Cisco BroadWorks is widely used by telecommunications service providers and businesses worldwide.
"Cisco BroadWorks is used by a large number of telecommunications service providers and businesses around the world," the advisory notes.
CISA Urges Urgent Action
CISA stresses the urgency of the situation and encourages affected organizations to take immediate action.
"CISA urges organizations using Cisco BroadWorks to take urgent action to protect against the identified vulnerability," the agency emphasized.
Cisco BroadWorks is a critical infrastructure product
Cisco BroadWorks is a critical infrastructure product, providing voice and messaging services to businesses and telecommunications providers.
"Cisco BroadWorks is a critical infrastructure product that provides voice and messaging services to businesses and telecommunications providers," the advisory highlights.
<small>Source: Bleeping Computer — read the original story there.</small>
