A high-severity vulnerability exists in the management interface of multiple Cisco products that could allow a remote attacker to redirect users to a malicious website. This could be used to trick administrators into revealing sensitive credentials or downloading malware, leveraging the user's trust in the legitimate Cisco management portal. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to critical infrastructure.

The vulnerability is an open redirect flaw within the Virtual Keyboard Video Monitor (vKVM) connection handling function of the Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC). An unauthenticated, remote attacker can exploit this by crafting a special URL that points to the vulnerable Cisco IMC interface. When a legitimate user, such as an administrator, clicks this malicious link, the IMC service improperly validates the connection parameters and automatically redirects the user's browser to an attacker-controlled website. This malicious site could be a convincing phishing page designed to steal credentials or a platform for delivering malware to the administrator's workstation.

This vulnerability is rated as High severity with a CVSS score of 7.1. The primary business impact stems from the risk of targeted phishing campaigns against privileged users who manage Cisco infrastructure. If an administrator's credentials are stolen through a fake login page, an attacker could gain full administrative access to servers and other network devices managed by the IMC. This could lead to data breaches, system downtime, unauthorized configuration changes, and a stepping stone for lateral movement across the corporate network. The attack leverages the trust users have in the Cisco brand and interface, increasing the likelihood of a successful phishing attempt.

Immediate Action:

• Identify all vulnerable Cisco products with the Integrated Management Controller (IMC) interface within the environment.
• Apply the security updates provided by Cisco immediately to patch the vulnerability.
• After patching, review web access logs for the IMC interface for any signs of exploitation attempts that may have occurred prior to remediation.

Proactive Monitoring:

• Monitor web server and access logs for the Cisco IMC interface for unusual HTTP GET requests, particularly those involving the vKVM feature that contain external URLs in the parameters.
• Analyze network traffic for unexpected outbound connections from administrator workstations immediately following a session with the IMC interface.
• Implement alerting for multiple failed login attempts on the IMC, which could indicate a post-exploitation activity after credential theft.

Compensating Controls:

• Restrict network access to the Cisco IMC management interface. Ensure it is only accessible from a secure, isolated management network or specific, trusted IP addresses.
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to detect and block common open redirect patterns.
• Conduct user awareness training for administrators, specifically highlighting the risk of phishing attacks originating from links that appear to be for internal management tools. Advise them to navigate to the IMC interface directly rather than clicking on links.

Public Exploit Available: false

Given the High severity rating and the direct risk to privileged administrator accounts, this vulnerability poses a significant threat. It is strongly recommended that organizations prioritize the immediate deployment of vendor-supplied security updates to all affected Cisco products. Although this CVE is not currently on the CISA KEV list, its potential as a gateway for credential harvesting and malware delivery warrants urgent attention. Until patching is complete, organizations must implement compensating controls, such as network segmentation for management interfaces, and enhance monitoring to detect and block potential exploitation attempts.