CVE-2018-3046 in Banking Corporate Lending
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle Banking Corporate Lending component of Oracle Financial Services Applications (subcomponent: Core module). Supported versions that are affected are 12.3.0, 12.4.0, 12.5.0, 14.0.0 and 14.1.0. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Banking Corporate Lending. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle Banking Corporate Lending accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 5.3 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/10/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-3046 resides within Oracle Banking Corporate Lending component of Oracle Financial Services Applications, specifically within the Core module of affected versions 12.3.0 through 14.1.0. This represents a significant security weakness that affects financial institutions utilizing Oracle's corporate lending solutions, where the vulnerability manifests as a remote code execution risk that can be exploited by attackers with minimal privileges. The flaw operates through the HTTP protocol, making it particularly dangerous as it requires no special privileges to initiate attacks and can be launched from any network location. The CVSS 3.0 scoring of 5.3 indicates a medium severity threat, yet the potential impact is severe as it could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive financial data or complete system compromise.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the Core module of Oracle Banking Corporate Lending. Attackers with low privileges and network access can exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized access to critical financial data within the system. The vulnerability's classification as difficult to exploit suggests that while the attack vector is accessible, specific conditions or additional steps may be required to successfully compromise the system. This weakness directly maps to CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) which are fundamental security principles that when violated can lead to unauthorized access and data breaches. The attack scenario typically involves an unauthenticated attacker sending malicious HTTP requests that can bypass normal access controls and retrieve sensitive information from the database.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability presents a substantial risk to financial institutions that rely on Oracle Banking Corporate Lending for their lending operations and customer data management. The potential for unauthorized access to critical data includes customer financial information, loan details, credit records, and other sensitive corporate data that could be used for financial fraud or identity theft. The impact extends beyond simple data theft as the vulnerability could potentially allow attackers to manipulate lending decisions, alter customer records, or disrupt core banking operations. Organizations using affected versions face a heightened risk of regulatory violations, financial losses, and reputational damage if this vulnerability is exploited. The security implications are particularly concerning given that the attack requires minimal privileges and can be executed over standard HTTP connections, making detection and prevention more challenging.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-3046 should include immediate patch application from Oracle as the primary defense mechanism, along with implementing network-level controls to restrict access to the affected application. Organizations should deploy web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious HTTP traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Network segmentation should be implemented to limit access to the vulnerable components, while implementing strict access controls and authentication mechanisms can help reduce the attack surface. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in the broader Oracle Financial Services Applications ecosystem. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1190 (Exploit Public-Facing Application) and T1071.004 (Application Layer Protocol: DNS) as attackers may use HTTP-based attacks to gain initial access, while the exploitation techniques align with T1068 (Exploitation for Privilege Escalation) when successful. Organizations should also consider implementing data loss prevention solutions and continuous monitoring to detect unauthorized data access attempts that may result from exploitation of this vulnerability.