CVE-2016-0521 in E-Business Suite
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Oracle iProcurement component in Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.10.2 allows remote attackers to affect integrity via unknown vectors related to Redirection.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/05/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0521 resides within the Oracle iProcurement component of Oracle E-Business Suite version 11.5.10.2, representing a critical security weakness that exposes organizations to potential integrity breaches through remote attack vectors. This unspecified vulnerability specifically relates to redirection mechanisms within the procurement system, creating pathways for malicious actors to manipulate the application's behavior and potentially compromise data integrity. The Oracle iProcurement module serves as a critical business process component enabling organizations to manage procurement workflows, vendor interactions, and transaction processing, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for enterprise environments that rely heavily on integrated business applications.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of redirection mechanisms within the Oracle E-Business Suite framework, where attackers can potentially manipulate URL redirection parameters to redirect users to malicious endpoints or manipulate the application's navigation flow. This type of vulnerability typically falls under the category of improper input validation and redirection handling, aligning with CWE-601 - URL Redirection to Untrusted Site ('Open Redirection') and potentially CWE-20 - Improper Input Validation. The weakness allows attackers to craft malicious URLs or manipulate session parameters that could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive procurement data or system resources, as the application fails to properly validate and sanitize redirection targets before executing navigation commands.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for organizations using Oracle E-Business Suite, particularly those with extensive procurement processes and sensitive financial data. Attackers could exploit this weakness to redirect users to phishing sites designed to capture credentials or other sensitive information, potentially leading to unauthorized access to procurement systems, financial data manipulation, or privilege escalation within the application. The integrity of procurement transactions, vendor relationships, and financial reporting could be compromised through unauthorized redirection attacks that exploit the application's trust in navigation parameters. Organizations may face regulatory compliance issues, financial losses, and reputational damage if procurement data integrity is compromised through such attacks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-0521 should focus on immediate patch management through Oracle's security updates and patches specifically addressing this vulnerability in the E-Business Suite. Organizations must implement network-level controls including firewall rules that restrict access to procurement components and monitor for suspicious redirection patterns in web traffic logs. The implementation of web application firewalls and input validation controls can help prevent malicious redirection attempts by validating all URL parameters and ensuring proper sanitization of user inputs before processing. Additionally, security awareness training for procurement staff can help identify potential phishing attempts that exploit this vulnerability, while regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify and remediate similar weaknesses in the broader Oracle E-Business Suite environment. Organizations should also consider implementing strict access controls and monitoring mechanisms that track and alert on unusual navigation patterns or unauthorized redirection attempts within the procurement system, aligning with ATT&CK techniques related to credential access and privilege escalation through web application vulnerabilities.