CVE-2017-10035 in BI Publisher
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the BI Publisher component of Oracle Fusion Middleware (subcomponent: Web Server). Supported versions that are affected are 11.1.1.7.0 and 11.1.1.9.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise BI Publisher. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in BI Publisher, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all BI Publisher accessible data as well as unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of BI Publisher accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 8.2 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/02/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-10035 resides within the BI Publisher component of Oracle Fusion Middleware, specifically within the Web Server subcomponent. This flaw affects two major version streams of Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1, namely 11.1.1.7.0 and 11.1.1.9.0, which represent widely deployed enterprise applications used for business intelligence and reporting purposes. The vulnerability classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers can leverage this weakness with minimal technical expertise, making it particularly dangerous in production environments where such systems often handle sensitive business data and critical organizational information.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient authentication mechanisms within the BI Publisher web server interface, allowing unauthenticated attackers to gain access through standard HTTP network connections. This represents a fundamental breakdown in the principle of least privilege and authentication controls that should normally protect enterprise applications. The vulnerability's CVSS 3.0 score of 8.2 reflects its significant impact potential, with high confidentiality impact indicating the possibility of unauthorized access to critical data and low integrity impact suggesting that attackers could potentially modify or delete some accessible data. The attack vector AV:N indicates network-based exploitation, while the low attack complexity AC:L suggests that the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal technical skill and PR:N shows that no prior privileges are required for exploitation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond the immediate BI Publisher component, as successful exploitation can potentially compromise additional Oracle products within the same ecosystem. This cascading effect aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1046 for network service scanning, as attackers may use this initial foothold to explore and compromise other systems within the enterprise network. The requirement for human interaction UI:R suggests that while the initial exploitation may be automated, some form of user involvement is needed to complete the attack chain, possibly through social engineering or targeted phishing campaigns that could lead users to interact with malicious payloads. This human factor component increases the overall risk profile and makes the vulnerability more challenging to defend against through purely technical means.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to isolate critical BI Publisher instances, deployment of web application firewalls to monitor and filter HTTP traffic, and implementation of strong authentication controls even for internal systems. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) and its alignment with ATT&CK techniques for credential access and privilege escalation highlight the need for comprehensive security controls. Regular patch management procedures should be enforced to ensure timely updates to Oracle Fusion Middleware components, while network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual HTTP traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, privileged access controls should be reviewed and strengthened to minimize the potential damage from successful exploitation, ensuring that even if attackers gain access to the BI Publisher interface, they cannot easily escalate privileges or access unrelated critical systems within the enterprise infrastructure.