CVE-2018-2594 in Hyperion BI+
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Hyperion BI+ component of Oracle Hyperion (subcomponent: Foundation UI & Servlets). The supported version that is affected is 11.1.2.4. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Hyperion BI+. 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 Hyperion BI+ accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of Hyperion BI+ accessible data and unauthorized ability to cause a partial denial of service (partial DOS) of Hyperion BI+. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 4.3 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L).
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/31/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-2594 resides within Oracle Hyperion Business Intelligence Plus component, specifically affecting the Foundation UI & Servlets subcomponent. This represents a significant security weakness in enterprise business intelligence platforms that are widely deployed across corporate environments for financial reporting and analytics. The affected version 11.1.2.4 indicates this is a legacy release that continues to be operational in many enterprise settings, creating ongoing risk exposure for organizations that have not yet migrated to supported versions. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable means that attackers can leverage relatively straightforward attack vectors to compromise these systems, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with insufficient security controls.
The technical flaw manifests through insufficient access controls within the Hyperion BI+ application framework, allowing attackers with high privileges to exploit HTTP network connections to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data and system functionality. This vulnerability operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration CWE-284 access control weakness, where improper privileges are granted to authenticated users who should not have elevated capabilities. The attack requires human interaction from users other than the attacker, indicating that social engineering or user manipulation may be necessary to initiate the exploitation process, though this does not significantly reduce the overall risk profile. The security implications are particularly concerning as they affect multiple confidentiality, integrity, and availability domains simultaneously, as reflected in the CVSS 3.0 scoring system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data compromise to include potential system disruption and unauthorized modifications to business intelligence data. Attackers can achieve unauthorized update, insert, or delete operations against specific data sets within the Hyperion BI+ environment, potentially corrupting financial reports or manipulating business metrics that organizations rely upon for decision making. Additionally, the ability to perform unauthorized read access to subset data means that sensitive business intelligence information could be extracted without detection, creating potential competitive disadvantages or regulatory compliance violations. The partial denial of service capability adds another dimension to the threat, as it can disrupt business operations and prevent authorized users from accessing critical financial reporting systems during peak business hours.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including network segmentation to limit access to Hyperion BI+ systems, implementing robust authentication controls, and ensuring that all user accounts have appropriate privilege levels. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under privilege escalation and credential access techniques, making it particularly relevant for organizations that have not fully implemented principle of least privilege access controls. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other enterprise applications, as this vulnerability demonstrates how legacy systems can remain exposed to exploitation even when the original vendors have moved beyond supporting older releases. Patch management processes should be prioritized to ensure that affected systems receive appropriate updates or that alternative security controls are implemented to reduce the risk of successful exploitation.