CVE-2015-4773 in Hyperion
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Hyperion Common Security component in Oracle Hyperion 11.1.2.2, 11.1.2.3, and 11.1.2.4 allows remote authenticated users to affect availability via unknown vectors related to User Account Update.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/03/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-4773 resides within the Hyperion Common Security component of Oracle Hyperion versions 11.1.2.2, 11.1.2.3, and 11.1.2.4, representing a critical security flaw that compromises system availability through unspecified attack vectors related to user account updates. This vulnerability specifically targets the authentication and authorization mechanisms within the Hyperion platform, which serves as a foundational component for enterprise performance management and business intelligence solutions. The affected Hyperion Common Security component handles user account management functions including authentication, authorization, and access control policies that govern user interactions with the broader Hyperion ecosystem. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that the vulnerability may manifest through multiple pathways within the user account update functionality, potentially encompassing issues such as input validation failures, resource exhaustion, or improper error handling during account modification processes.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through authenticated user sessions, requiring attackers to possess valid credentials before attempting to leverage the flaw. This authentication requirement places the vulnerability in the context of privilege escalation scenarios or insider threat situations where compromised accounts could be used to disrupt service availability. The impact on system availability stems from the potential for attackers to cause denial of service conditions through malformed user account update requests that could trigger system instability, resource exhaustion, or application crashes. The vulnerability's classification under CWE categories typically relates to weak input validation, resource management issues, or improper error handling within authentication components, with potential mappings to CWE-20 for input validation errors and CWE-400 for resource exhaustion vulnerabilities. The attack surface extends to all users who can perform account update operations within the Hyperion environment, potentially affecting administrators, end users, and service accounts that maintain system access permissions.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-4773 extends beyond simple service disruption to encompass potential business continuity implications for organizations relying on Hyperion for critical financial and operational reporting functions. When exploited successfully, the vulnerability could render the Hyperion platform unavailable for legitimate users, disrupting financial reporting cycles, budgeting processes, and other time-sensitive business operations. Organizations utilizing Hyperion for enterprise performance management face significant risk of operational downtime that could cascade into broader business impact, particularly in financial services, manufacturing, and other sectors where timely access to performance data is critical. The vulnerability affects the underlying security infrastructure rather than application functionality, meaning that successful exploitation could undermine the entire authentication framework and potentially provide attackers with additional attack vectors against other system components. System administrators and security teams must consider the potential for this vulnerability to be used as a stepping stone for more extensive attacks within the network environment, as the compromise of user account update functionality could provide opportunities for privilege escalation or lateral movement.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-4773 should prioritize immediate patch deployment from Oracle, as the vulnerability affects multiple versions of the Hyperion platform and requires vendor-supplied security updates to address the root cause. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit access to Hyperion components and reduce the potential attack surface, particularly focusing on restricting access to user account update functionality to only essential administrative personnel. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous user account update activities that might indicate exploitation attempts, including monitoring for unusual patterns in account modification requests or rapid succession of update operations. Access control measures should be strengthened through implementation of principle of least privilege, ensuring that users have only the minimum permissions necessary to perform their legitimate functions. Regular security assessments of Hyperion environments should include vulnerability scanning and penetration testing focused on authentication components, with particular attention to user account management functions. Organizations should also consider implementing additional logging and audit capabilities to track user account modifications and identify potential exploitation attempts. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of patches in non-production environments before deployment to ensure that security updates do not introduce compatibility issues with existing Hyperion configurations or business processes. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation and denial of service tactics, with potential lateral movement opportunities through compromised user accounts. Organizations should also review their incident response procedures to ensure readiness for exploitation scenarios involving authentication system compromises.