CVE-2008-3990 in Database 9i
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Oracle OLAP component in Oracle Database 9.2.08, 9.2.0.8DV, and 10.1.0.5 allows remote authenticated users to affect availability, related to OLAPSYS.CWM2_OLAP_AW_AWUTIL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/19/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-3990 resides within Oracle Database's OLAP component, specifically affecting versions 9.2.0.8, 9.2.0.8DV, and 10.1.0.5. This issue represents a significant security weakness that impacts the availability of database systems through the OLAPSYS.CWM2_OLAP_AW_AWUTIL interface. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability suggests a complex underlying flaw that could potentially allow attackers to disrupt service availability without necessarily compromising data integrity or confidentiality. The OLAP component is designed for online analytical processing and data warehousing capabilities, making it a critical component in enterprise database environments where analytical workloads are processed.
The technical flaw manifests through the OLAPSYS.CWM2_OLAP_AW_AWUTIL interface, which serves as a gateway for OLAP administrative functions within Oracle Database. This interface appears to lack proper input validation or access control mechanisms that would prevent malicious exploitation by authenticated users. Attackers with valid credentials can leverage this vulnerability to potentially cause denial of service conditions by manipulating the OLAP system's operational parameters. The vulnerability's classification as affecting availability rather than confidentiality or integrity indicates that the primary impact is through service disruption rather than data compromise. The fact that this vulnerability affects multiple versions of Oracle Database demonstrates a widespread issue within the OLAP component architecture that was not properly addressed in the affected releases.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses substantial risk to enterprise database environments that rely on OLAP functionality for business intelligence and analytical reporting. The ability for authenticated users to cause availability issues means that both malicious insiders and externally compromised accounts could potentially disrupt critical business operations. Organizations using Oracle Database 9.2.0.8, 9.2.0.8DV, and 10.1.0.5 versions face potential downtime and service disruption that could impact analytical reporting, business intelligence systems, and decision-making processes that depend on OLAP capabilities. The vulnerability's remote exploitation capability means that attackers do not require physical access to the database server, making it particularly dangerous in networked environments where database systems are accessible over the network.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of the broader ATT&CK framework, particularly under the privilege escalation and denial of service tactics. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which addresses improper input validation, and CWE-362, which covers concurrent execution use of a resource. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying Oracle's security patches, restricting access to OLAP administrative interfaces, and monitoring for anomalous activity in OLAPSYS schema usage. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of principle of least privilege, as users should only have access to OLAP administrative functions when absolutely necessary. Additionally, network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to limit access to OLAP administrative interfaces, reducing the attack surface and potential impact of exploitation attempts.