CVE-2017-3490 in FLEXCUBE Enterprise Limits
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle FLEXCUBE Enterprise Limits and Collateral Management component of Oracle Financial Services Applications (subcomponent: Limits and Collateral). Supported versions that are affected are 12.0.0 and 12.1.0. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle FLEXCUBE Enterprise Limits and Collateral Management. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized read access to a subset of Oracle FLEXCUBE Enterprise Limits and Collateral Management accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 3.1 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/19/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-3490 resides within Oracle FLEXCUBE Enterprise Limits and Collateral Management component, specifically within the Limits and Collateral subcomponent of Oracle Financial Services Applications. This enterprise-level financial management system serves as a critical component for banking institutions managing credit limits and collateral arrangements. The affected versions 12.0.0 and 12.1.0 represent widely deployed iterations that expose organizations to significant operational risks. The vulnerability classification as difficult to exploit indicates that while the attack vector requires some technical sophistication, the low privilege requirement makes it particularly concerning for financial institutions where unauthorized access to credit management data could result in substantial financial loss and regulatory violations.
The technical flaw manifests through insufficient access controls within the HTTP interface of the FLEXCUBE system, allowing an attacker with minimal privileges to bypass normal authorization mechanisms and gain unauthorized read access to sensitive data within the limits and collateral management subsystem. This represents a classic privilege escalation vulnerability where the attacker can access data beyond their intended role boundaries. The CVSS 3.0 score of 3.1 reflects the relatively low complexity required to exploit this vulnerability, though the high attack complexity rating suggests that additional conditions or prerequisites must be met. The vulnerability's impact is specifically focused on confidentiality as it enables unauthorized data disclosure without modification or disruption of system operations, aligning with CWE-284 which addresses improper access control mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as credit limits and collateral management data contain highly sensitive financial information including customer credit profiles, loan terms, and risk assessment parameters. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability could potentially access information that would enable them to manipulate credit decisions, identify vulnerable customers for further attacks, or conduct financial fraud operations. The fact that this affects enterprise-level financial systems means that successful exploitation could compromise the integrity of an institution's risk management processes and potentially violate regulatory requirements under frameworks such as SOX, Basel III, and various financial data protection standards. Organizations relying on FLEXCUBE for their core banking operations face significant reputational and financial risks from such unauthorized data access.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-3490 should focus on immediate patch management implementation, as Oracle would have released security updates specifically addressing this access control flaw. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to restrict HTTP access to only authorized administrative interfaces and reduce the attack surface. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar access control vulnerabilities within the broader financial services application ecosystem. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and credential access, highlighting the importance of implementing robust identity and access management controls. Organizations should also consider implementing database activity monitoring and audit logging to detect unauthorized access attempts to sensitive financial data. Given the nature of financial services applications, compliance with industry standards such as PCI DSS and NIST cybersecurity frameworks becomes critical in addressing the confidentiality impacts of this vulnerability.