CVE-2013-5765 in PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools component in Oracle PeopleSoft Products 8.51, 8.52, and 8.53 allows remote attackers to affect availability via vectors related to XML Publisher.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/13/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-5765 resides within the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools component of Oracle PeopleSoft products, specifically affecting versions 8.51, 8.52, and 8.53. This unspecified weakness manifests in the XML Publisher functionality, which serves as a critical reporting and document generation module within the PeopleSoft ecosystem. The vulnerability represents a significant concern for organizations relying on PeopleSoft for their enterprise resource planning and business process automation needs, as it potentially enables remote attackers to disrupt system availability through targeted exploitation of the XML Publisher component.
The technical nature of this vulnerability lies in the improper handling of XML Publisher requests, which creates opportunities for attackers to manipulate the system's processing of XML data structures. The unspecified character of the flaw suggests that the underlying weakness could involve multiple potential attack vectors including but not limited to memory corruption, resource exhaustion, or improper input validation within the XML processing pipeline. This type of vulnerability typically arises from insufficient sanitization of user-supplied XML content, allowing maliciously crafted XML documents to trigger unexpected behavior in the underlying processing engine. The vulnerability's classification as affecting availability indicates that successful exploitation could result in denial of service conditions that prevent legitimate users from accessing PeopleSoft applications or accessing critical business data through the XML Publisher functionality.
Organizations operating affected PeopleSoft versions face substantial operational risks from this vulnerability, as it could enable attackers to disrupt business processes that depend on PeopleSoft reporting capabilities. The remote attack surface means that threat actors do not require physical access to the system or network privileges to exploit the vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous in environments where PeopleSoft applications are exposed to external networks. The impact on availability could extend beyond simple service disruption to include complete system unresponsiveness, requiring manual intervention and potentially leading to extended downtime for business-critical applications. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely heavily on PeopleSoft's reporting features and XML Publisher for generating financial reports, HR documentation, and other business-critical outputs, as the disruption could cascade through entire business operations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2013-5765 should prioritize immediate application of Oracle's security patches and updates released specifically for this vulnerability. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit access to PeopleSoft applications and restrict direct internet exposure of the XML Publisher functionality. Access controls and authentication measures should be strengthened to ensure that only authorized personnel can interact with the XML Publisher component, while also implementing proper input validation and sanitization for all XML data entering the system. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns of XML Publisher requests that might indicate attempted exploitation, and organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls to filter potentially malicious XML content. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which covers unspecified vulnerabilities related to resource management, and represents a potential attack vector categorized under the ATT&CK technique T1499 for network denial of service. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify any additional weaknesses in the PeopleSoft environment that could be exploited in conjunction with this vulnerability, while maintaining comprehensive audit logs for forensic analysis in case of successful exploitation attempts.