CVE-2018-2673 in Hospitality Simphony
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle Hospitality Simphony component of Oracle Hospitality Applications (subcomponent: POS). Supported versions that are affected are 2.7, 2.8 and 2.9. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Hospitality Simphony. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle Hospitality Simphony accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 5.9 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/31/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-2673 resides within Oracle Hospitality Simphony's Point of Sale component, representing a significant security weakness in the hospitality applications suite that affects versions 2.7, 2.8, and 2.9. This flaw manifests as a remote code execution vulnerability that can be exploited by unauthenticated attackers who gain network access through HTTP protocols. The vulnerability's classification as difficult to exploit indicates that while it requires some level of technical skill and knowledge to leverage, the attack surface remains accessible to determined threat actors. The CVSS 3.0 score of 5.9 reflects the moderate severity of the vulnerability, with particular emphasis on confidentiality impacts, though the potential for complete data compromise makes this assessment conservative.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the POS subsystem of Oracle Hospitality Simphony. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious HTTP requests that bypass authentication requirements and gain unauthorized access to sensitive data within the system. The vulnerability's network accessibility means that threat actors do not require physical access or prior credentials to attempt exploitation, making it particularly dangerous for hospitality environments where point of sale systems handle sensitive customer information, transaction data, and business-critical operational details. The attack vector specifically leverages HTTP protocols, indicating that the vulnerability exists in the web-facing components of the application that process incoming requests without adequate validation.
The operational impact of successful exploitation of CVE-2018-2673 extends far beyond simple data theft, as it can result in complete access to all Oracle Hospitality Simphony accessible data. This includes but is not limited to customer personal information, payment card details, transaction histories, and potentially sensitive business intelligence. For hospitality organizations, this represents a critical risk to both regulatory compliance and business continuity, as the compromise of POS systems can lead to financial fraud, identity theft, and significant operational disruption. The vulnerability's potential to enable unauthorized access to critical data aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and CWE-311 (Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data) classifications, which are commonly associated with POS system compromises in the hospitality sector. Organizations may face substantial financial penalties under payment card industry standards and data protection regulations if this vulnerability is exploited successfully.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-2673 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Oracle Hospitality Simphony versions through official Oracle security updates and patches. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to restrict access to the POS system components, limiting exposure to only authorized network segments. Additional defensive measures include implementing web application firewalls to monitor and filter HTTP traffic, conducting regular security assessments of the hospitality applications, and establishing robust network monitoring to detect anomalous access patterns. Organizations should also consider implementing encryption for sensitive data both at rest and in transit, as well as maintaining comprehensive audit trails to detect unauthorized access attempts. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1190 (Exploit Public-Facing Application) and T1071.004 (Application Layer Protocol: DNS) as attackers may use various techniques to probe and exploit the vulnerable HTTP endpoints. Regular security training for personnel and implementation of zero-trust network architectures can further reduce the risk of exploitation, as these approaches minimize the impact of successful attacks by limiting lateral movement within the network infrastructure.