CVE-2017-3536 in PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools component of Oracle PeopleSoft Products (subcomponent: Security). Supported versions that are affected are 8.54 and 8.55. Easily "exploitable" vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 4.6 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/19/2020
The CVE-2017-3536 vulnerability resides within Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools component, specifically within the Security subcomponent of PeopleSoft Products. This vulnerability affects versions 8.54 and 8.55, representing a significant security weakness in enterprise application infrastructure that serves organizations relying on PeopleSoft for business operations. The vulnerability classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers can leverage this flaw with minimal technical sophistication, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with exposed web services.
This security flaw operates through HTTP network access and requires a low privileged attacker position to exploit successfully. The attack vector demonstrates that the vulnerability can be initiated remotely over network connections, eliminating the need for physical access or elevated privileges. The requirement for human interaction from a person other than the attacker suggests that social engineering or user manipulation might be necessary to complete the exploitation process, aligning with attack patterns documented in the ATT&CK framework under privilege escalation and user execution techniques. The vulnerability's CVSS 3.0 base score of 4.6 reflects moderate severity with specific impacts to both confidentiality and integrity, indicating that successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized modifications of data and potential unauthorized access to sensitive information.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data access issues to encompass comprehensive data manipulation capabilities. Attackers can potentially perform unauthorized update, insert, or delete operations against PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools accessible data, creating opportunities for data corruption, loss, or unauthorized modifications that could severely impact business processes. Additionally, the vulnerability enables unauthorized read access to subsets of accessible data, which could expose sensitive business information, financial records, or operational data that organizations rely on for secure operations. The compromise of these systems could result in significant business disruption, regulatory compliance violations, and potential financial losses.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying Oracle's security patches and updates as released for this vulnerability, which would address the underlying security flaw in PeopleTools version 8.54 and 8.55. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit exposure of PeopleSoft applications to untrusted networks, while monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect anomalous access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify other potential weaknesses in the PeopleSoft environment and ensure proper access controls are implemented according to the principle of least privilege. The vulnerability's classification under CWE 79 (Cross-site Scripting) and its alignment with ATT&CK techniques for privilege escalation and data manipulation indicate that organizations should review their security configurations and implement defense-in-depth strategies to prevent exploitation. Regular security awareness training for users can help mitigate the human interaction requirement, while proper incident response procedures should be established to quickly detect and respond to potential exploitation attempts.