CVE-2011-0853 in PeopleSoft Enterprise HRMS
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise HRMS 9.0 Bundle #15 and 9.1 Bundle #5 allows remote authenticated users to affect confidentiality and integrity via unknown vectors related to ePerformance.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/05/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-0853 resides within Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise HRMS version 9.0 Bundle #15 and 9.1 Bundle #5, specifically affecting the ePerformance component. This unspecified weakness represents a significant security concern for organizations utilizing enterprise human resources management systems, as it provides remote authenticated attackers with the capability to compromise both confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data. The vulnerability's classification as unspecified indicates that the exact technical details of the flaw were not fully disclosed in the initial advisory, which is common for certain types of security issues that may involve complex interactions between multiple system components.
The technical nature of this vulnerability suggests a weakness within the ePerformance module's implementation that can be exploited by authenticated users who are already within the system's access boundaries. This type of vulnerability typically arises from inadequate input validation, improper access controls, or flawed cryptographic implementations within the PeopleSoft framework. The ePerformance component specifically handles employee performance management processes including goal setting, review cycles, and evaluation mechanisms that contain highly sensitive personal and organizational data. Attackers leveraging this vulnerability could potentially access confidential employee records, manipulate performance data, or corrupt system integrity through various attack vectors that remain unspecified in the CVE description.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses substantial risk to enterprise organizations relying on PeopleSoft HRMS for their human resources operations. The compromise of confidentiality could result in unauthorized access to sensitive employee information including performance reviews, compensation details, and personal identifiers that are typically protected under privacy regulations. The integrity aspect of the vulnerability means that attackers could modify or corrupt performance data, potentially affecting critical business decisions, compensation calculations, and employee advancement processes. Organizations using this software may face regulatory compliance issues, legal liability, and reputational damage if such vulnerabilities are exploited. The remote nature of the attack vector indicates that exploitation does not require physical access to the system, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged from anywhere on the network.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including applying the relevant Oracle security patches and updates released for this vulnerability, as well as conducting comprehensive security assessments of their PeopleSoft environments. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit the attack surface and reduce the potential impact of exploitation. Regular security monitoring and log analysis should be enhanced to detect any anomalous activities that might indicate attempted exploitation of this vulnerability. The vulnerability aligns with several CWE categories including unspecified weaknesses in input validation and access control mechanisms, and may map to ATT&CK techniques related to privilege escalation and data manipulation. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as database activity monitoring, application firewalls, and regular vulnerability assessments to address similar issues in their PeopleSoft deployments and maintain overall system security posture.