CVE-2018-2840 in Retail Xstore Point of Service
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle Retail Xstore Point of Service component of Oracle Retail Applications (subcomponent: Xstore Office). Supported versions that are affected are 6.5.11, 7.0.6, 7.1.6, 15.0.1 and 16.0.2. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Retail Xstore Point of Service. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle Retail Xstore Point of Service accessible data as well as unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle Retail Xstore Point of Service accessible data and unauthorized ability to cause a partial denial of service (partial DOS) of Oracle Retail Xstore Point of Service. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 7.6 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/03/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-2840 resides within the Oracle Retail Xstore Point of Service component, specifically affecting the Xstore Office subcomponent. This security flaw impacts multiple versions including 6.5.11, 7.0.6, 7.1.6, 15.0.1, and 16.0.2 of the Oracle Retail Applications suite. The vulnerability classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers can leverage this weakness without requiring specialized skills or tools, making it particularly dangerous in production environments where such systems handle sensitive retail data and transactions.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient authentication mechanisms within the HTTP communication layer of the Xstore Point of Service. Attackers can exploit this weakness by simply accessing the vulnerable system over the network without requiring any valid credentials, which aligns with the CVSS vector indicating network accessibility with low attack complexity and no privilege requirements. This flaw creates a significant security gap where unauthorized parties can gain access to the system's resources and potentially manipulate the retail environment's operational data.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-2840 extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass comprehensive data compromise and system integrity violations. Successful exploitation can lead to unauthorized access to critical retail data including customer information, transaction records, and inventory details, representing a high confidentiality risk. The vulnerability also allows attackers to modify or delete data within the system, creating integrity concerns that could disrupt retail operations and potentially lead to financial losses. Additionally, the partial denial of service capability means that attackers can compromise system availability, affecting point of sale operations and customer service delivery.
The requirement for human interaction from individuals other than the attacker suggests that social engineering or insider threat components may be involved in successful exploitation scenarios. This characteristic aligns with the CVSS scoring system where user interaction is factored into the attack vector calculation. The vulnerability's impact severity, rated at 7.6 on the CVSS 3.0 scale, reflects the combination of high confidentiality impact, low integrity impact, and low availability impact, indicating that data theft and modification represent the primary concerns rather than complete system compromise.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to restrict access to the affected systems, deployment of web application firewalls to monitor and filter HTTP traffic, and enforcement of strong authentication mechanisms. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-287 (Improper Handling of Authentication Factors) and its alignment with ATT&CK technique T1190 (Exploit Public-Facing Application) emphasizes the need for comprehensive application security measures. Regular security assessments, patch management procedures, and employee awareness training are essential components of a defense-in-depth strategy to protect against this type of vulnerability. System administrators should also consider implementing monitoring solutions to detect unusual access patterns and unauthorized modifications to retail data, as these indicators may precede or accompany exploitation attempts.