CVE-2015-4777 in Berkeley DB
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Data Store component in Oracle Berkeley DB 11.2.5.1.29, 11.2.5.2.42, 11.2.5.3.28, and 12.1.6.0.35 allows local users to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability via unknown vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-2583, CVE-2015-2624, CVE-2015-2626, CVE-2015-2640, CVE-2015-2654, CVE-2015-2656, CVE-2015-4754, CVE-2015-4764, CVE-2015-4775, CVE-2015-4776, CVE-2015-4778, CVE-2015-4780, CVE-2015-4781, CVE-2015-4782, CVE-2015-4783, CVE-2015-4784, CVE-2015-4785, CVE-2015-4786, CVE-2015-4787, CVE-2015-4789, and CVE-2015-4790.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/27/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-4777 resides within Oracle Berkeley DB's Data Store component, specifically affecting versions 11.2.5.1.29, 11.2.5.2.42, 11.2.5.3.28, and 12.1.6.0.35. This represents a significant security weakness that operates at the core database storage layer, where local attackers can exploit unspecified vectors to compromise fundamental security properties including confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vulnerability's classification as local indicates that exploitation requires system-level access or equivalent privileges, making it particularly concerning for environments where privileged accounts are present or where privilege escalation attacks are possible. The Data Store component serves as the foundational storage mechanism for Berkeley DB applications, making this vulnerability potentially pervasive across numerous applications that rely on this database technology.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from unspecified attack vectors within the Data Store component, which suggests potential weaknesses in memory management, input validation, or access control mechanisms that could be leveraged by local users. Given that this vulnerability operates independently from several other CVEs including CVE-2015-2583 through CVE-2015-4790, it indicates a distinct code path or architectural flaw that has not been addressed by existing patches for the related vulnerabilities. The unspecified nature of the vectors makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous as security professionals cannot immediately determine the precise attack surface or potential exploitation techniques, requiring extensive analysis and potentially leading to unexpected attack scenarios. This characteristic aligns with common patterns found in software vulnerabilities where memory corruption issues or improper access controls can manifest in unpredictable ways, often creating multiple potential attack paths that may not be immediately obvious.
From an operational perspective, the impact of CVE-2015-4777 extends across multiple security domains due to its potential to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability simultaneously. A successful exploitation could result in unauthorized data access, data corruption, or service disruption depending on the specific attack vector utilized. The local nature of the vulnerability means that attackers with system-level privileges or those who can escalate privileges can potentially leverage this weakness to gain deeper access to sensitive database information or to corrupt database contents. Organizations using Oracle Berkeley DB in mission-critical applications face significant risk, as this vulnerability could be exploited to compromise sensitive data or disrupt database services. The vulnerability's presence in multiple versions of the software indicates a fundamental flaw that was not properly addressed in the affected releases, suggesting that organizations should carefully evaluate their database implementations for potential exploitation.
Security mitigations for CVE-2015-4777 should focus on immediate patching of affected Oracle Berkeley DB versions to the latest available releases that contain fixes for this vulnerability. Organizations should also implement comprehensive monitoring of system access and database activity to detect potential exploitation attempts, particularly focusing on unusual access patterns or privilege escalation activities. Network segmentation and access control measures can help limit the potential impact of local exploitation by restricting system-level access to database servers. Additionally, implementing proper privilege separation and least-privilege principles can reduce the attack surface for this vulnerability. The vulnerability's relationship to CWE categories involving data integrity and access control issues, particularly those related to improper access control and information exposure, suggests that defensive measures should address both the immediate exploitation vectors and broader architectural security considerations. Organizations should also consider implementing database activity monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous behavior patterns consistent with potential exploitation attempts. The ATT&CK framework would classify this vulnerability under techniques related to privilege escalation and credential access, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security controls that address both the technical flaw and the operational environment where exploitation could occur.