CVE-2015-4787 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-2015-4777, 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-2015-4789, and CVE-2015-4790.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/14/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-4787 represents a significant security weakness within Oracle Berkeley DB's Data Store component, affecting multiple version releases including 11.2.5.1.29, 11.2.5.2.42, 11.2.5.3.28, and 12.1.6.0.35. This unspecified flaw operates at the core data storage layer of the database system, creating potential attack vectors that could compromise fundamental security properties of information systems. The vulnerability's classification as local user affect indicates that exploitation requires physical or logical access to the system, though the impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass all three pillars of information security.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the Data Store component's handling of data operations, where unknown vectors enable attackers to manipulate stored information in ways that compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability simultaneously. This triad compromise represents a particularly dangerous scenario where an attacker could potentially read sensitive data, modify database contents, and disrupt system operations all through a single attack vector. The vulnerability's distinction from over twenty other related CVEs demonstrates that this represents a unique weakness within the Berkeley DB architecture rather than a common class of flaws.
From an operational perspective, the impact of CVE-2015-4787 extends across multiple security domains and system components that rely on Oracle Berkeley DB for data persistence. Organizations utilizing these specific versions of the database system face potential data breaches, integrity violations, and service disruptions that could affect critical business operations. The local user requirement for exploitation does not diminish the threat level, as privileged local access often provides attackers with sufficient capabilities to cause substantial damage to organizational data assets and infrastructure.
The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE categories related to data storage and database security, particularly those addressing data integrity and confidentiality violations. Security professionals should consider this weakness in relation to ATT&CK framework tactics including privilege escalation, defense evasion, and data destruction. Organizations implementing mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems, implementation of network segmentation to limit local access, and enhanced monitoring of database access patterns to detect potential exploitation attempts.
Given the unspecified nature of the vulnerability vectors, security teams should adopt comprehensive defensive measures including regular vulnerability assessments, application whitelisting, and robust access controls. The affected versions represent a critical security concern that requires immediate attention from system administrators and security operations teams. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough impact assessments to identify all systems running the vulnerable Berkeley DB versions and implement appropriate compensating controls until full patches can be deployed across all affected environments.