CVE-2016-0556 in E-Business Suite
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Oracle Advanced Collections component in Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.10.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.2, and 12.1.3 allows remote authenticated users to affect confidentiality and integrity via unknown vectors related to Administration, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0557.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/04/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0556 resides within the Oracle Advanced Collections component of the Oracle E-Business Suite, affecting versions 11.5.10.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.2, and 12.1.3. This represents a significant security weakness in one of Oracle's core enterprise applications that organizations rely upon for critical business operations. The affected component is part of the broader Oracle E-Business Suite ecosystem, which provides comprehensive business management solutions including financials, procurement, project management, and customer relationship management functionalities. The vulnerability specifically impacts the Administration functionality within this component, indicating potential exposure in areas related to system configuration, user management, and administrative controls.
The technical nature of this vulnerability involves unspecified attack vectors that allow authenticated remote attackers to compromise both confidentiality and integrity aspects of the affected system. While the exact technical mechanism remains unspecified in the CVE description, the classification as an administration-related vulnerability suggests potential exposure in privileged system functions, configuration management interfaces, or administrative APIs. This type of vulnerability typically arises from insufficient input validation, improper access controls, or flawed authentication mechanisms within administrative interfaces. The fact that it affects both confidentiality and integrity indicates the attacker could potentially access sensitive data and modify system configurations or data, creating a comprehensive security breach scenario. This vulnerability is distinct from CVE-2016-0557, which suggests separate attack surfaces within the same component.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it creates potential pathways for attackers to escalate privileges and manipulate core business data. Organizations utilizing Oracle E-Business Suite in production environments face significant risk from this vulnerability, particularly in scenarios where administrative functions are exposed to network access or where insufficient network segmentation exists. The remote authentication requirement means that attackers do not need physical access to the system but can exploit the vulnerability from external networks, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with exposed administrative interfaces. This vulnerability could enable attackers to modify collection rules, alter customer data, manipulate financial records, or compromise system configurations that affect business operations. The potential for data integrity compromise is especially concerning in financial and customer management systems where data accuracy is paramount for business operations.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the relevant Oracle critical patch updates, which would address the underlying vulnerability in the Advanced Collections component. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit access to administrative functions, ensuring that only authorized personnel can reach these critical interfaces. Implementing robust monitoring and logging of administrative activities can help detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and CWE-311 (Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data) categories, representing weaknesses in access control mechanisms and data protection. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation and defense evasion techniques, as attackers could potentially establish persistent access through administrative interface exploitation. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar issues in other Oracle components and ensure comprehensive protection of the enterprise application infrastructure.