CVE-2005-4753 in WebLogic Server
Summary
by MITRE
BEA WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express 8.1 SP4 and earlier, and 7.0 SP6 and earlier, in certain "heavy usage" scenarios, report incorrect severity levels for an audit event, which might allow attackers to perform unauthorized actions and avoid detection.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/20/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-4753 affects BEA WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express versions 8.1 SP4 and earlier, as well as 7.0 SP6 and earlier, under specific high-load conditions. This security flaw resides in the audit logging mechanism of the application server, where the system fails to accurately report severity levels for audit events. The issue manifests during what the vendor terms "heavy usage" scenarios, suggesting that the vulnerability is more likely to be triggered when the server experiences significant load or concurrent connections. This particular weakness represents a critical flaw in the security monitoring infrastructure of the application server, as it directly impacts the integrity of the audit trail that organizations rely upon for security incident detection and response.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of audit event severity classification within the WebLogic Server's logging framework. When the server processes audit events under high load conditions, the system incorrectly assigns severity levels to security events, potentially downgrading critical security incidents to less severe classifications. This misclassification creates a false sense of security for administrators who rely on audit logs for monitoring and alerting purposes. The flaw essentially allows malicious actors to perform unauthorized actions while simultaneously evading detection mechanisms that depend on accurate severity reporting for alert generation. From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability directly relates to CWE-1106, which addresses improper handling of audit events, and represents a significant weakness in the principle of least privilege and audit logging integrity.
The operational impact of CVE-2005-4753 extends beyond simple audit logging failures, as it fundamentally undermines the security posture of systems running affected WebLogic versions. Attackers who understand this vulnerability can exploit the incorrect severity reporting to conduct malicious activities while remaining undetected in security monitoring systems. The false negatives created by this flaw can lead to delayed incident response times, potentially allowing attackers to maintain persistence within the environment for extended periods. Organizations relying on WebLogic Server for critical applications face increased risk of undetected compromise, particularly in environments where security monitoring is heavily dependent on audit log analysis. This vulnerability also impacts compliance requirements, as accurate audit logging is often mandated by regulatory frameworks such as pci dss, hipaa, and soc 2, making the incorrect severity reporting a compliance risk.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2005-4753 should prioritize immediate patching of affected WebLogic Server installations to versions that address the audit logging severity classification issue. Organizations should implement additional monitoring controls that do not rely solely on the built-in audit severity reporting, including custom logging solutions that verify the accuracy of security event classifications. Network segmentation and access controls should be enhanced to limit the impact of potential exploitation, while implementing intrusion detection systems that can detect anomalous behavior patterns independent of audit log severity levels. Security teams should conduct thorough audit log reviews to identify any potential undetected incidents that may have occurred during the vulnerability window. The ATT&CK framework's TA0006 credential access and TA0005 defense evasion tactics are particularly relevant to this vulnerability, as attackers can leverage the incorrect severity reporting to avoid detection while establishing persistent access to the affected systems. Organizations should also consider implementing third-party security monitoring solutions that provide independent verification of security events to compensate for the flawed severity reporting mechanism in the affected WebLogic versions.