CVE-2016-0550 in E-Business Suite
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Oracle CRM Technical Foundation component in Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.10.2, 12.1.3, 12.2.3, 12.2.4, and 12.2.5 allows remote attackers to affect confidentiality and integrity via vectors related to CRM HTML Administration.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/04/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0550 resides within the Oracle CRM Technical Foundation component of the Oracle E-Business Suite, affecting multiple version releases including 11.5.10.2, 12.1.3, 12.2.3, 12.2.4, and 12.2.5. This unspecified weakness manifests in the CRM HTML Administration functionality, representing a critical security gap that enables remote attackers to compromise both confidentiality and integrity of affected systems. The vulnerability's classification within Oracle's security framework indicates a significant risk to enterprise environments that rely on the E-Business Suite for their customer relationship management operations.
The technical flaw within the CRM HTML Administration component stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms that allow malicious actors to exploit weaknesses in the web-based administrative interface. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to manipulate data integrity by modifying customer records, transaction histories, and other critical business information while simultaneously gaining unauthorized access to confidential data. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability suggests that the underlying flaw may involve multiple attack vectors including but not limited to cross-site scripting, SQL injection, or improper privilege validation within the HTML administration framework. This weakness operates at the application layer and can be exploited without requiring authentication, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with exposed web interfaces.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-0550 extends far beyond simple data corruption or unauthorized access, as it fundamentally compromises the trust model of the Oracle E-Business Suite deployment. Organizations utilizing affected versions face potential data breaches that could expose sensitive customer information, financial records, and business intelligence to unauthorized parties. The integrity compromise allows attackers to alter customer relationships, modify sales forecasts, and manipulate business processes that rely on accurate CRM data, potentially leading to significant financial losses and regulatory compliance violations. This vulnerability directly impacts the availability and reliability of customer data, creating cascading effects throughout the enterprise's business operations and potentially violating industry standards such as those outlined in the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard or the General Data Protection Regulation.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying Oracle's security patches and updates specifically designed to address this vulnerability, implementing network segmentation to limit access to the affected CRM components, and conducting thorough vulnerability assessments of their E-Business Suite deployments. Additional protective measures include strengthening access controls through role-based permissions, implementing web application firewalls to monitor and filter traffic to the CRM HTML Administration interface, and establishing continuous monitoring protocols to detect unauthorized access attempts. Security teams should also consider implementing database activity monitoring and regular security audits to identify potential exploitation attempts. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques such as credential access and privilege escalation, while the CWE classification would likely fall under CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) or related weakness categories that address web application security flaws. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches in enterprise applications and highlights the risks associated with legacy system components that may not receive adequate security attention.