CVE-2017-10157 in BI Publisher
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the BI Publisher component of Oracle Fusion Middleware (subcomponent: BI Publisher Security). Supported versions that are affected are 11.1.1.7.0, 11.1.1.9.0, 12.2.1.1.0 and 12.2.1.2.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise BI Publisher. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of BI Publisher accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of BI Publisher accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 6.5 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/02/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-10157 resides within the BI Publisher component of Oracle Fusion Middleware, specifically within the BI Publisher Security subcomponent. This weakness affects multiple version lines including 11.1.1.7.0, 11.1.1.9.0, 12.2.1.1.0, and 12.2.1.2.0, representing a significant attack surface across Oracle's middleware portfolio. The vulnerability classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers require minimal technical expertise to leverage this flaw, making it particularly dangerous in production environments where such systems often handle sensitive business intelligence data.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient authentication mechanisms within the BI Publisher security framework, allowing unauthenticated attackers to establish network connections through HTTP protocols. This weakness creates a direct pathway for malicious actors to bypass normal access controls and gain unauthorized system access. The vulnerability operates at the application layer where HTTP requests can be crafted to exploit the missing authentication checks, effectively removing the need for valid credentials or session tokens to interact with the BI Publisher functionality.
From an operational impact perspective, successful exploitation of this vulnerability enables attackers to perform unauthorized data manipulation activities including updates, inserts, and deletes against BI Publisher accessible data repositories. Additionally, attackers can achieve unauthorized read access to specific subsets of data that would normally be protected by proper access controls. The CVSS 3.0 scoring of 6.5 reflects the moderate severity of this threat, with confidentiality and integrity impacts rated as low to moderate, indicating that while the vulnerability may not cause complete system compromise, it does enable significant unauthorized data access and modification capabilities that can severely impact business operations and data integrity.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-287, which addresses improper authentication issues in software systems, and represents a classic example of weak access control mechanisms in enterprise applications. From an adversary perspective, this vulnerability maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1190 for exploitation of remote services and T1078 for valid accounts usage, though the unauthenticated nature of the attack means it can be leveraged without prior legitimate access. Organizations should consider implementing network segmentation, firewall rules to restrict HTTP access to BI Publisher components, and immediate patching of affected Oracle Fusion Middleware installations to address this security gap. The CVSS vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N clearly indicates network-based exploitation with low attack complexity and no privilege requirements, emphasizing the need for proactive defense measures across all affected systems.
This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper authentication mechanisms in enterprise applications and highlights the potential consequences when security controls fail to adequately protect data access. The impact extends beyond simple data theft to include potential data corruption and manipulation that could affect business intelligence reporting and decision-making processes. Organizations maintaining Oracle Fusion Middleware environments should prioritize immediate remediation through official Oracle patches and conduct comprehensive security assessments to identify any additional vulnerabilities in their middleware infrastructure.