CVE-2018-3223 in Outside In Technology
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle Outside In Technology component of Oracle Fusion Middleware (subcomponent: Outside In Filters). The supported version that is affected are 8.5.3 and 8.5.4. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Outside In Technology. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of Oracle Outside In Technology and unauthorized read access to a subset of Oracle Outside In Technology accessible data. Note: Outside In Technology is a suite of software development kits (SDKs). The protocol and CVSS score depend on the software that uses the Outside In Technology code. The CVSS score assumes that the software passes data received over a network directly to Outside In Technology code, but if data is not received over a network the CVSS score may be lower. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 7.1 (Confidentiality and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/26/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-3223 affects Oracle Outside In Technology, a critical component within Oracle Fusion Middleware that serves as a suite of software development kits enabling applications to process various document formats. This vulnerability specifically resides within the Outside In Filters subcomponent and impacts versions 8.5.3 and 8.5.4 of the Oracle Fusion Middleware. The flaw represents a significant security weakness that can be exploited by unauthenticated attackers who gain network access through HTTP protocols. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers require minimal technical expertise to leverage this weakness effectively.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the Outside In Technology processing engine, creating opportunities for malicious actors to craft specially formatted data that triggers unintended behavior in the affected systems. When the vulnerable software processes malicious input through the Outside In Filters, it can lead to complete denial of service conditions where the application becomes unresponsive or crashes repeatedly. Additionally, the vulnerability permits unauthorized read access to sensitive data within the affected system, potentially exposing confidential information that should remain protected. The CVSS 3.0 scoring system assigns a base score of 7.1, reflecting the combination of confidentiality and availability impacts, with the vector indicating network accessibility, low attack complexity, no privileged requirements, and user interaction requirements.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-3223 extends beyond simple service disruption to encompass potential data leakage and system instability. Organizations utilizing affected versions of Oracle Fusion Middleware face risks of complete system downtime when attackers successfully exploit this vulnerability, leading to business disruption and potential financial losses. The requirement for human interaction suggests that while the attack itself may be automated, successful exploitation often requires some form of user engagement or system interaction that could be manipulated through social engineering tactics. This vulnerability particularly affects environments where document processing is critical and where the Outside In Technology code handles data received over network connections, making it especially dangerous in web-facing applications and document management systems.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of affected Oracle Fusion Middleware installations to version 8.5.5 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of vulnerable systems to untrusted networks. The implementation of web application firewalls and content filtering mechanisms can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts targeting this specific vulnerability. Additionally, security monitoring should focus on identifying unusual network traffic patterns and system behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. From a compliance perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which addresses out-of-bounds read conditions, and represents a significant concern under ATT&CK framework category T1499 for network denial of service attacks. Organizations should also consider implementing data loss prevention measures to protect against unauthorized data access that could occur as a result of successful exploitation.