CVE-2007-0426 in WebLogic Portal
Summary
by MITRE
BEA WebLogic Portal 9.2, when running in a WebLogic Server clustered environment using WebLogic Portal entitlements, does not properly propagate entitlement policy changes if the changes are made on a managed server while the Administrative Server is unavailable, which might allow attackers to bypass intended restrictions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/14/2025
BEA WebLogic Portal 9.2 presents a critical authorization vulnerability when operating within clustered WebLogic Server environments that utilize WebLogic Portal entitlements. This flaw stems from improper handling of entitlement policy propagation mechanisms during administrative server unavailability scenarios, creating a significant security gap that adversaries can exploit to circumvent access controls. The vulnerability specifically manifests when entitlement modifications are applied to managed servers while the administrative server remains unreachable, leading to inconsistent policy enforcement across the cluster.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the distributed nature of WebLogic Portal's entitlement management system. When the administrative server becomes unavailable, the managed servers fail to properly synchronize entitlement policy updates, resulting in a state where local entitlement caches contain outdated information while the administrative server maintains the updated policy definitions. This asynchronous behavior creates a window of opportunity where unauthorized access can occur, as the managed servers continue to enforce the old policies while the administrative server has already implemented the new restrictions. The flaw represents a violation of the principle of least privilege and undermines the integrity of the access control mechanisms that should govern portal resource access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, potentially enabling attackers to escalate privileges and gain access to sensitive portal resources that should be restricted to authorized users only. In a clustered environment, this inconsistency can affect multiple managed servers simultaneously, amplifying the scope of potential compromise. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability could bypass intended restrictions on portal content, administrative functions, or user-specific resources, leading to data exposure, privilege escalation, and potential lateral movement within the affected environment. The distributed nature of the flaw means that even if individual managed servers appear secure, the overall cluster security posture remains compromised.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control in software systems, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential access through privilege escalation. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including ensuring administrative server availability, implementing proper cluster synchronization mechanisms, and establishing monitoring procedures to detect inconsistent entitlement states. Recommended remediation strategies involve maintaining administrative server uptime, implementing redundant administrative server configurations, and deploying automated health checks to verify entitlement policy consistency across all cluster members. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of the WebLogic Portal environment while addressing the underlying vulnerability through official patches or version upgrades.