CVE-2017-3550 in E-Business Suite
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle Customer Interaction History component of Oracle E-Business Suite (subcomponent: Admin Console). Supported versions that are affected are 12.1.1, 12.1.2 and 12.1.3. Easily "exploitable" vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Customer Interaction History. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Oracle Customer Interaction History, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle Customer Interaction History accessible data as well as unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle Customer Interaction History 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 • 12/19/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-3550 resides within the Oracle Customer Interaction History component of Oracle E-Business Suite, specifically within the Admin Console subcomponent. This security flaw affects Oracle E-Business Suite versions 12.1.1, 12.1.2, and 12.1.3, representing a significant risk to organizations utilizing these legacy systems. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and demonstrates characteristics of a remote code execution threat that can be exploited without authentication, making it particularly dangerous in environments where network exposure is inevitable. The CVSS 3.0 scoring system rates this vulnerability as 8.2, indicating a high severity level with significant confidentiality and integrity impacts. The attack vector requires network access via HTTP, which means any system with exposed HTTP services could potentially be compromised.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and access control mechanisms within the Admin Console functionality. Attackers can exploit this weakness through unauthenticated network connections, leveraging the HTTP protocol to gain unauthorized access to sensitive customer interaction data. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that minimal technical expertise is required to carry out successful attacks, making it a prime target for automated exploitation tools. The requirement for human interaction from a person other than the attacker suggests that social engineering or targeted phishing may be involved in the attack chain, though the core technical exploit can occur without direct user involvement in the initial compromise phase. This vulnerability's impact extends beyond the immediate component, potentially affecting additional Oracle products within the same ecosystem due to shared architectural elements and data dependencies.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-3550 represents a critical threat to data integrity and confidentiality within enterprise environments. Successful exploitation enables attackers to access critical customer interaction data, potentially including sensitive personal information, transaction records, and business intelligence that could be used for financial fraud, identity theft, or competitive advantage. The vulnerability permits unauthorized update, insert, and delete operations on accessible data, providing attackers with full administrative capabilities within the affected system. This comprehensive access level means that attackers can not only read sensitive information but also alter or destroy data, potentially causing significant operational disruption and financial loss. Organizations using affected Oracle E-Business Suite versions face substantial risk of data breaches, regulatory violations, and reputational damage, particularly in industries subject to strict data protection regulations such as healthcare, finance, and government sectors.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-3550 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Oracle E-Business Suite installations to the latest supported versions that contain security fixes for this vulnerability. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit exposure of the Admin Console to trusted networks only, while also deploying robust network monitoring solutions to detect unusual HTTP traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Access control measures including strong authentication mechanisms, regular credential rotation, and principle of least privilege should be enforced to minimize potential damage from any successful exploitation. Additionally, implementing web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems can provide additional layers of protection against exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) and CWE-312 (Sensitive Data Exposure) categories, while attack patterns may map to MITRE ATT&CK techniques including T1190 (Exploit Public-Facing Application) and T1071.3 (Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols) for exploitation methods, and T1003 (OS Credential Dumping) or T1070 (Indicator Removal on Host) for post-exploitation activities that could follow successful compromise.