CVE-2016-0517 in E-Business Suite
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Oracle Human Resources component in Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.10.2 allows remote attackers to affect confidentiality and integrity via unknown vectors related to General utilities, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0518.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/04/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0517 resides within the Oracle Human Resources component of the Oracle E-Business Suite version 11.5.10.2, representing a significant security weakness that exposes organizations to potential data breaches and system compromise. This unspecified vulnerability specifically impacts the General utilities functionality within the Human Resources module, creating a pathway for remote attackers to exploit the system without requiring physical access or local privileges. The affected component operates as part of Oracle's comprehensive enterprise resource planning suite, which serves as a critical business infrastructure for numerous organizations worldwide. The vulnerability's classification as remote attackable means that malicious actors can potentially exploit this weakness from external network locations, amplifying the potential impact and attack surface.
The technical nature of this vulnerability lies in the insufficient security controls within the General utilities functions of the Oracle Human Resources component, which allows unauthorized access to confidential data and the potential for data integrity compromise. While the exact technical flaw remains unspecified in the CVE description, such vulnerabilities typically stem from inadequate input validation, improper access controls, or flawed authentication mechanisms within the application layer. The fact that this represents a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0518 indicates that multiple weaknesses exist within the same component, suggesting a broader security architecture issue within the Oracle Human Resources module. This particular vulnerability operates at the application level and could potentially allow attackers to manipulate sensitive human resources data, including employee records, compensation information, and other confidential personnel details.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-0517 extends beyond simple data exposure, as it creates opportunities for attackers to modify critical human resources information, potentially leading to financial fraud, unauthorized access to sensitive personnel data, and disruption of business operations. Organizations utilizing Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.10.2 face significant risk of data breaches that could result in regulatory compliance violations, financial losses, and reputational damage. The vulnerability's classification as affecting both confidentiality and integrity means that attackers could not only read sensitive information but also alter it, potentially compromising the reliability and accuracy of human resources databases. This dual impact on data protection and data integrity makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous for enterprise environments where human resources data forms the foundation of critical business operations and regulatory compliance requirements.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including applying Oracle's security patches and updates as soon as they become available, implementing network segmentation to limit access to the affected Oracle E-Business Suite components, and conducting thorough vulnerability assessments to identify potential exploitation vectors. The vulnerability aligns with common attack patterns documented in the ATT&CK framework under application layer attacks, specifically targeting enterprise applications that handle sensitive data. From a CWE perspective, this vulnerability likely maps to categories related to insufficient input validation or inadequate access controls, representing a fundamental security flaw that requires comprehensive remediation. Organizations should also consider implementing additional monitoring and logging mechanisms to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures to address potential breaches. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies to protect enterprise applications from sophisticated attack vectors targeting business-critical systems.