CVE-2016-0455 in Enterprise Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Enterprise Manager Base Platform component in Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control 11.1.0.1, 11.2.0.4, 12.1.0.4, and 12.1.0.5 allows local users to affect confidentiality and availability via unknown vectors related to Agent Next Gen.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/04/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0455 resides within Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control's Enterprise Manager Base Platform component, specifically affecting versions 11.1.0.1, 11.2.0.4, 12.1.0.4, and 12.1.0.5. This issue represents a local privilege escalation vulnerability that enables attackers with local system access to compromise both confidentiality and availability of the affected system. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it operates within the Agent Next Gen framework, which serves as a critical component for monitoring and managing enterprise environments. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that the flaw may involve multiple pathways of exploitation, potentially including memory corruption issues or improper access controls within the agent's operational context.
The technical flaw manifests through the Agent Next Gen functionality, which is designed to facilitate communication between managed targets and the Enterprise Manager Grid Control. This component typically operates with elevated privileges to perform monitoring tasks and collect system information, creating a potential attack surface for local users who may exploit weaknesses in the agent's privilege management or resource handling mechanisms. The vulnerability's classification as affecting both confidentiality and availability indicates that successful exploitation could result in data disclosure through unauthorized access to monitored system information, while availability impacts may occur through service disruption or system instability. The lack of specific details about the exact attack vectors makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it may encompass multiple exploitation techniques that could be leveraged by determined attackers.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to enterprise environments that rely on Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control for system monitoring and management. Local users with access to systems running the affected versions could potentially escalate their privileges to gain administrative access, leading to unauthorized data access and potential system compromise. The impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation as the vulnerability affects the integrity of the monitoring infrastructure itself, potentially allowing attackers to manipulate or corrupt monitoring data. Organizations using these specific versions of Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control should consider this vulnerability as a critical threat to their security posture, particularly in environments where local user access is not strictly controlled. The agent-based architecture means that even if the primary system remains secure, compromised agents could provide attackers with persistent access to monitor and manipulate system activities.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-0455 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control installations to the latest available versions that contain fixes for this vulnerability. Organizations should implement strict access controls and privilege management policies to minimize local user access to systems running the affected software. Network segmentation and monitoring of agent communications can help detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-269, which addresses privilege escalation issues in enterprise management systems, and may map to ATT&CK techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence mechanisms. Regular security assessments of Oracle installations and monitoring for unauthorized access attempts should be implemented as part of comprehensive security operations. System administrators should also consider disabling unnecessary agent functionality and regularly reviewing agent configurations to ensure they operate with minimal required privileges.