CVE-2015-4874 in Enterprise Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Enterprise Manager Base Platform component in Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control 12.1.0.4 and 12.1.0.5 allows local users to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability via unknown vectors related to Agent Next Gen.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/22/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-4874 resides within Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control's Enterprise Manager Base Platform component, specifically affecting versions 12.1.0.4 and 12.1.0.5. This issue represents a significant security weakness that manifests through the Agent Next Gen functionality, creating potential attack vectors that could compromise the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of affected systems. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability details suggests that the exact technical mechanism remains classified or not fully disclosed in public records, which is common with certain enterprise software vulnerabilities that require careful handling to prevent exploitation. The vulnerability impacts local users, meaning that an attacker must already have access to the target system to exploit this weakness, though this access level still represents a critical security gap given the potential for privilege escalation or data compromise.
The technical flaw within the Agent Next Gen component appears to stem from inadequate security controls or improper access validation mechanisms that allow local users to manipulate system resources or data in ways that should be restricted. This type of vulnerability typically involves insufficient input validation, improper privilege management, or flawed authorization checks within the agent framework that governs how the system communicates with managed targets. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability likely maps to categories involving insufficient privilege management or inadequate input validation, potentially falling under CWE-276 for incorrect permissions or CWE-284 for improper access control. The agent-based architecture of Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control means that the compromised agent could potentially provide attackers with elevated privileges or access to underlying system resources that would otherwise be protected.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for organizations relying on Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control for system monitoring and management. The potential compromise of confidentiality means that sensitive operational data, configuration information, or system credentials could be accessed by unauthorized local users. Integrity risks arise from the possibility of data manipulation or system corruption through the compromised agent functionality, potentially leading to false system states or corrupted monitoring data that could mask actual security incidents. Availability threats could manifest through denial of service conditions or system instability caused by the exploitation of the vulnerability. The attack surface expands significantly when considering that Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control agents typically run with elevated privileges and maintain connections to central management servers, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for enterprise environments.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including applying Oracle's security patches and updates released for this vulnerability, which would address the underlying flaw in the Agent Next Gen component. System administrators should conduct thorough security assessments to identify all instances of affected Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control versions and ensure proper access controls are implemented to limit local user privileges. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect any anomalous behavior from affected agents that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK techniques involving privilege escalation and credential access, suggesting that defenders should monitor for suspicious local account activities and implement principle of least privilege controls. Regular security audits of Oracle installations should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities, as this issue demonstrates the importance of maintaining current security patches and monitoring agent-based security controls within enterprise management platforms.