CVE-2018-2670 in Financial Services Profitability Management
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle Financial Services Profitability Management component of Oracle Financial Services Applications (subcomponent: User Interface). Supported versions that are affected are 6.1.x and 8.0.x. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Financial Services Profitability Management. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Oracle Financial Services Profitability Management, 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 Profitability Management accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of Oracle Financial Services Profitability Management 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-2018-2670 resides within Oracle Financial Services Profitability Management, specifically within its User Interface subcomponent. This flaw affects Oracle Financial Services Applications versions 6.1.x and 8.0.x, representing a significant security concern for financial institutions utilizing these platforms. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and presents an easily exploitable threat vector that does not require authentication, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with exposed web interfaces. The CVSS 3.0 score of 6.1 indicates a medium severity threat with specific impacts to confidentiality and integrity, though the potential for broader system compromise cannot be understated.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the user interface component. Attackers can exploit this weakness through unauthenticated HTTP network connections, requiring only basic network connectivity to the target system. The vulnerability's classification as requiring human interaction suggests that while the initial exploitation may be automated, some form of user action or system interaction is necessary to complete the attack vector. This characteristic places the vulnerability in the context of social engineering or user deception scenarios where legitimate users might inadvertently trigger the exploit. The attack surface extends beyond just the Profitability Management component, potentially affecting additional Oracle Financial Services products within the same ecosystem.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple data access. Successful exploitation can result in unauthorized modification, insertion, or deletion of critical financial data within the Profitability Management system. Additionally, attackers can gain read access to sensitive subsets of data that may include confidential financial information, transaction records, and business intelligence. The confidentiality and integrity impacts are particularly concerning given the nature of financial applications and the sensitive data they handle. Organizations may experience significant disruption to their financial reporting processes, data integrity issues, and potential compliance violations that could affect regulatory reporting requirements. The CVSS vector indicates that while the attack requires user interaction, the scope of impact is classified as "changed," suggesting that the vulnerability could affect additional products beyond the immediate target.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to limit access to the affected components, deployment of web application firewalls to monitor and filter HTTP traffic, and thorough patching of affected Oracle Financial Services Applications. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) and CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) categories, representing common security weaknesses that frequently appear in financial applications. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving initial access through network services and privilege escalation through data manipulation. Regular security assessments and monitoring of network traffic for suspicious HTTP requests should be implemented to detect potential exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing additional authentication mechanisms and access controls to reduce the attack surface and limit potential damage from successful exploitation attempts.