CVE-2014-6566 in PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools component in Oracle PeopleSoft Products 8.53 allows remote authenticated users to affect integrity via unknown vectors related to Portal.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/03/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-6566 resides within the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools component of Oracle PeopleSoft Products version 8.53, representing a significant security weakness that impacts the integrity of portal-based systems. This unspecified vulnerability affects authenticated remote users who can potentially manipulate portal functionalities through unknown attack vectors, creating a potential pathway for data corruption or unauthorized modifications within the PeopleSoft environment. The vulnerability specifically targets the portal infrastructure, which serves as a critical interface for user interactions and system access within PeopleSoft applications, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to compromise system integrity.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation or control mechanisms within the portal component of PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools, allowing authenticated users to exploit weaknesses in the system's integrity controls. While the exact attack vectors remain unspecified in the CVE description, such vulnerabilities typically arise from inadequate input sanitization, improper access controls, or flawed privilege management within portal frameworks. The authenticated nature of the attack indicates that attackers must first establish valid credentials, but once authenticated, they can leverage this vulnerability to compromise data integrity within the portal environment. This aligns with common patterns found in CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and CWE-345 (Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity) categories, where access controls fail to properly validate user permissions or data integrity checks.
The operational impact of CVE-2014-6566 extends beyond simple data manipulation, potentially enabling attackers to corrupt critical business data, modify user permissions, or compromise the overall reliability of PeopleSoft applications. Portal integrity is fundamental to PeopleSoft systems as it controls access to various business functions and data repositories, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for organizations relying on PeopleSoft for enterprise resource planning and human capital management. The remote aspect of the vulnerability means that attackers can exploit this weakness from outside the corporate network, potentially leading to widespread data integrity issues across multiple business processes. This vulnerability could be leveraged in conjunction with other attack techniques, potentially aligning with ATT&CK tactics such as T1078 (Valid Accounts) and T1499 (Endpoint Termination) to create more comprehensive attack scenarios.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including applying the relevant Oracle security patches, strengthening authentication controls, and implementing network segmentation to limit access to PeopleSoft portal components. Security monitoring should focus on unusual portal activity, unauthorized user modifications, and potential data integrity violations. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security measures and conducting regular vulnerability assessments of enterprise applications. Given the nature of portal-based systems, organizations should also review their access control policies and implement principle of least privilege controls to minimize the potential impact of such vulnerabilities. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical need for comprehensive security testing of enterprise applications, particularly those with web-based interfaces that serve as primary access points for business operations.