CVE-2016-0588 in E-Business Suite
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Oracle General Ledger component in Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.10.2 allows remote attackers to affect integrity via unknown vectors related to Consolidation Hierarchy Viewer.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/05/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0588 resides within Oracle E-Business Suite's General Ledger component, specifically affecting version 11.5.10.2. This issue represents a critical integrity risk that can be exploited by remote attackers through unspecified vectors related to the Consolidation Hierarchy Viewer functionality. The General Ledger component serves as a fundamental financial management module within Oracle E-Business Suite, handling crucial accounting processes and financial data consolidation across organizational units. The Consolidation Hierarchy Viewer component specifically manages the hierarchical representation of financial data during consolidation processes, making it a critical pathway for financial data manipulation and integrity validation.
The technical flaw manifests in the insufficient validation and access controls within the Consolidation Hierarchy Viewer, which allows unauthorized remote attackers to potentially modify or corrupt financial data structures without proper authentication or authorization. This vulnerability operates at the intersection of inadequate input sanitization and weak privilege enforcement mechanisms, creating a pathway for attackers to manipulate the underlying financial hierarchies that form the basis of consolidated financial reporting. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests multiple potential exploitation methods that could involve manipulation of data flow, injection attacks, or bypass of existing security controls. The vulnerability's impact on data integrity is particularly concerning as it could lead to incorrect financial reporting, misleading consolidation results, and potential fraud detection failures within enterprise financial systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond immediate data compromise to encompass broader business continuity and regulatory compliance risks. Organizations relying on Oracle E-Business Suite for financial management face potential disruption to their accounting processes, with the possibility of financial data corruption affecting audit trails, regulatory reporting, and stakeholder confidence. The remote nature of the attack vector means that threat actors can exploit this vulnerability from external networks without requiring physical access to the system or insider knowledge of internal procedures. This characteristic significantly amplifies the attack surface and potential damage scope, as attackers can target multiple organizations simultaneously without the need for complex network penetration activities. The vulnerability also represents a significant risk to financial integrity within the broader enterprise ecosystem, potentially affecting downstream applications that depend on accurate General Ledger data for their operations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-0588 should focus on immediate patch application from Oracle, which would address the underlying validation and access control weaknesses within the Consolidation Hierarchy Viewer. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit access to the affected Oracle E-Business Suite components, particularly restricting direct internet access to the General Ledger module. Additional protective measures include implementing enhanced monitoring of financial data changes, establishing stricter access controls for consolidation hierarchy modifications, and conducting regular vulnerability assessments targeting Oracle E-Business Suite installations. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and represents a variant of privilege escalation attacks that can be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1078 (Valid Accounts) and T1566 (Phishing). Organizations should also consider implementing database activity monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous financial data modifications and provide audit trail integrity verification. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other Oracle E-Business Suite components and ensure comprehensive protection against potential exploitation attempts.