CVE-2018-3015 in FLEXCUBE Universal Banking
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking component of Oracle Financial Services Applications (subcomponent: Infrastructure). Supported versions that are affected are 11.3.0, 11.4.0, 12.0.1, 12.0.2, 12.0.3, 12.1.0, 12.2.0, 12.3.0, 12.4.0, 14.0.0 and 14.1.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized creation, deletion or modification access to critical data or all Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking accessible data as well as unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 8.1 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/10/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-3015 resides within Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking, a core component of Oracle Financial Services Applications that serves as a comprehensive banking solution for financial institutions. This specific flaw manifests in the Infrastructure subcomponent of the FLEXCUBE Universal Banking system, affecting multiple version releases including 11.3.0 through 14.1.0, indicating a widespread impact across the product lifecycle. The vulnerability classification as easily exploitable suggests that attackers with minimal privileges and network access can successfully leverage this weakness, making it particularly concerning for financial institutions that rely on robust security controls. The affected system operates within a critical financial services environment where data integrity and confidentiality are paramount, as demonstrated by the vulnerability's potential to compromise sensitive banking information and transactional data.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls within the HTTP interface of the FLEXCUBE Universal Banking infrastructure, allowing low-privileged attackers to bypass normal authentication and authorization mechanisms. This flaw enables unauthorized users to perform critical operations including data modification, deletion, and creation activities against the entire banking application database. The CVSS score of 8.1 reflects the high severity impact, with both confidentiality and integrity significantly compromised, while availability remains relatively unaffected in this specific case. The vulnerability's accessibility via HTTP connections indicates that it can be exploited from external networks, potentially allowing remote attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive financial data and transaction records. The attack vector AV:N (network) combined with low complexity AC:L suggests that exploitation requires minimal technical expertise and can be executed from remote locations without requiring physical access to the system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data breaches, as it provides attackers with the capability to fundamentally alter or destroy critical banking data, potentially leading to financial losses, regulatory violations, and severe reputational damage. Financial institutions using affected versions of FLEXCUBE Universal Banking face significant risk of unauthorized modifications to customer accounts, transaction records, and core banking data that could result in substantial monetary losses and compliance failures. The vulnerability's potential to grant complete access to all accessible data means that attackers could potentially compromise entire customer databases, transaction histories, and sensitive financial information. Organizations may face regulatory scrutiny and penalties under financial services compliance frameworks such as SOX, PCI DSS, and various banking regulations that mandate strict data protection measures. The impact is particularly severe given that FLEXCUBE Universal Banking systems typically serve as central repositories for critical financial operations and customer information.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-3015 should prioritize immediate implementation of Oracle's security patches and updates as released through their official security bulletins. Organizations must ensure that all affected versions of Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking are updated to patched releases that address the access control vulnerabilities. Network segmentation and firewall configurations should be enhanced to restrict HTTP access to the affected systems, implementing strict access controls and monitoring for unauthorized connections. Security teams should implement comprehensive monitoring of HTTP traffic and access logs to detect potential exploitation attempts, utilizing intrusion detection systems and security information event management platforms. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of affected software and implement multi-factor authentication mechanisms where possible. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 (Valid Accounts) and T1046 (Network Service Scanning) as attackers would likely leverage this weakness to establish persistent access and conduct reconnaissance activities. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to verify that access controls remain effective and to identify any additional vulnerabilities that may exist within the financial services infrastructure.