CVE-2018-2661 in Financial Services Analytical Applications Infrastructure
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications Infrastructure component of Oracle Financial Services Applications (subcomponent: Core). Supported versions that are affected are 7.3.5.x and 8.0.x. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications Infrastructure. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications Infrastructure, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications Infrastructure accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications Infrastructure accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 6.1 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/30/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-2661 resides within the Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications Infrastructure component, specifically within the Core subcomponent of Oracle Financial Services Applications. This security flaw affects version 7.3.5.x and 8.0.x releases, representing a significant concern for financial institutions relying on these analytical platforms. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers can leverage network-based HTTP access without requiring authentication credentials, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with exposed web services. The attack vector operates through standard network protocols, allowing remote exploitation from external systems.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate access controls within the Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications Infrastructure, creating pathways for unauthorized data manipulation and access. The CVSS 3.0 score of 6.1 reflects the moderate severity, with confidentiality and integrity impacts rated as low, though the potential for unauthorized updates, inserts, and deletes to sensitive data represents a substantial risk. The vulnerability requires human interaction from individuals other than the attacker, suggesting a social engineering component or user-specific actions that facilitate exploitation, though the underlying infrastructure flaw remains the primary concern. This characteristic places the vulnerability within the context of CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and potentially CWE-312 (Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information) if authentication bypass mechanisms are involved.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond the immediate infrastructure component, as successful exploitation can affect additional products within the Oracle Financial Services ecosystem. This cascading effect demonstrates the interconnected nature of financial applications and the potential for lateral movement within organizational networks. The ability to perform unauthorized read access to data subsets while also enabling write operations creates multiple attack surfaces for threat actors seeking to compromise financial data integrity. Organizations may experience data breaches, financial losses, regulatory compliance violations, and reputational damage as a result of exploitation. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK matrix as a privilege escalation or credential access technique highlights its potential for broader system compromise.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of affected Oracle Financial Services Applications versions, implementing network segmentation to limit access to the vulnerable infrastructure, and deploying web application firewalls to monitor and filter HTTP traffic. Organizations must also conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify additional exposed services and ensure proper access controls are implemented. Regular security monitoring and incident response procedures should be enhanced to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's characteristics align with ATT&CK techniques related to exploitation of remote services and credential access, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security controls beyond simple patch management. Implementing principle of least privilege access controls and regular security audits will help reduce the attack surface and limit potential damage from similar vulnerabilities.