CVE-2008-0870 in WebLogic Portal
Summary
by MITRE
BEA WebLogic Portal 10.0 and 9.2 through Maintenance Pack 2, under certain circumstances, can redirect a user from the https:// URI for the Portal Administration Console to an http URI, which allows remote attackers to sniff the session.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/05/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-0870 affects BEA WebLogic Portal versions 10.0 and 9.2 through Maintenance Pack 2, representing a critical security flaw in web application authentication and session management. This issue stems from improper handling of secure communication protocols during administrative console access, creating a significant attack vector that compromises user session integrity. The flaw manifests when users navigate to the Portal Administration Console using https protocol but are subsequently redirected to an unencrypted http URI, exposing sensitive session information to network sniffing attacks.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the portal's redirect mechanism within the administration console framework. When users attempt to access secure administrative functions, the application fails to maintain the secure https protocol throughout the entire authentication and navigation process. This protocol downgrade occurs specifically during redirect operations, where the system automatically switches from encrypted https:// to unencrypted http:// URIs without proper validation or security checks. The underlying cause can be attributed to weak input validation and insufficient protocol enforcement mechanisms within the WebLogic Portal's security framework, which does not properly validate or maintain the security context during redirect operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple session hijacking, as it creates a pathway for man-in-the-middle attacks and credential theft. Remote attackers can leverage this flaw to capture session tokens and authentication data transmitted over the insecure http connection, potentially gaining unauthorized administrative access to the portal environment. This vulnerability directly violates security standards such as CWE-385, which addresses the improper handling of protocol downgrade attacks, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for credential access through phishing and network sniffing. The exposure of session data through unencrypted channels undermines the fundamental security principles of secure communication and session management, particularly affecting organizations that rely on WebLogic Portal for enterprise content management and portal services.
Organizations utilizing affected WebLogic Portal versions should immediately implement mitigations including mandatory protocol enforcement through secure redirect policies, configuration of strict security headers to prevent protocol downgrade, and implementation of automatic https enforcement mechanisms. System administrators must ensure that all administrative console access routes maintain consistent https protocol throughout the entire user session lifecycle, with proper certificate validation and secure redirect handling. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of regular security patching and configuration audits, as this issue can be resolved through applying the appropriate maintenance updates and security patches provided by Oracle. Additionally, network monitoring solutions should be configured to detect and alert on protocol downgrade attempts, while security teams should implement comprehensive session management policies that enforce secure communication channels for all administrative functions.