CVE-2016-0438 in Retail
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Oracle Retail Point-of-Service component in Oracle Retail Applications 13.4, 14.0, and 14.1 allows local users to affect confidentiality via vectors related to Mobile POS, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0434, CVE-2016-0436, and CVE-2016-0437.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/05/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0438 represents a security flaw within Oracle Retail Point-of-Service component that affects multiple versions of Oracle Retail Applications including 13.4, 14.0, and 14.1. This issue specifically targets local users who can exploit the weakness to compromise the confidentiality of data within the system. The vulnerability operates within the Mobile POS functionality of the retail applications, distinguishing it from other related vulnerabilities such as CVE-2016-0434, CVE-2016-0436, and CVE-2016-0437 which address different attack vectors within the same product line. The classification as a local vulnerability indicates that exploitation requires an attacker to already have access to the system or have obtained valid credentials to operate from within the target environment, making this a particularly concerning issue for organizations that do not properly enforce access controls and privilege management.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient security controls within the Mobile POS component of Oracle Retail Applications, which allows local users to potentially access confidential information that should remain protected. This type of vulnerability typically involves weaknesses in authentication, authorization, or data protection mechanisms that enable unauthorized data access. The Mobile POS functionality likely processes sensitive transactional data, customer information, and business-critical data that could be exposed through this vulnerability. According to CWE classification standards, this vulnerability would likely map to CWE-284 for improper access control or CWE-312 for exposure of sensitive information, though the specific CWE identifier would depend on the exact technical implementation details. The vulnerability's relationship to other CVEs in the same product line suggests a pattern of security weaknesses within the Oracle Retail Applications suite, particularly in the Point-of-Service component that handles mobile transaction processing.
From an operational perspective, the impact of CVE-2016-0438 could be significant for retail organizations that rely on mobile point-of-service systems for their daily operations. Local users with access to the system could potentially extract sensitive customer data, transaction records, pricing information, or inventory details that could be valuable for competitive advantage or malicious activities. The confidentiality breach could lead to financial losses through data theft, regulatory compliance violations, and damage to customer trust and brand reputation. Organizations using these specific versions of Oracle Retail Applications would face potential regulatory scrutiny if customer data is compromised, particularly under data protection regulations such as GDPR, PCI DSS, or other applicable compliance frameworks. The vulnerability's presence in multiple versions of the software indicates that organizations would need to urgently assess their deployment environments and implement appropriate mitigations across all affected systems.
The exploitation of this vulnerability requires local access to the system, which means that organizations should implement robust access control measures and monitor user activities to prevent unauthorized local access. Security controls should include proper privilege management, regular access reviews, and monitoring for suspicious activities within the Point-of-Service environment. Organizations should also consider implementing additional logging and audit capabilities to detect potential exploitation attempts. The recommended mitigations include applying the appropriate Oracle security patches and updates as released to address this vulnerability, along with implementing network segmentation to limit local access privileges. Organizations should also conduct thorough security assessments to identify all instances of the affected software versions and ensure that proper security controls are in place to prevent unauthorized local access to systems running Oracle Retail Applications. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK techniques related to privilege escalation and credential access, as local users who can exploit this vulnerability may be able to escalate their privileges or access sensitive data through the Mobile POS component.