CVE-2018-3232 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-2018-3232 resides within Oracle Outside In Technology, a comprehensive suite of software development kits that enables applications to process and manipulate various file formats. This particular flaw exists in the Outside In Filters subcomponent of Oracle Fusion Middleware and affects specifically versions 8.5.3 and 8.5.4. The vulnerability represents a significant security weakness that can be exploited by unauthenticated attackers who gain network access through HTTP protocols, making it particularly dangerous in environments where such services are exposed to external networks.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within the Outside In Technology processing pipeline. When applications utilizing this technology receive data from network sources, the code fails to properly sanitize or validate incoming parameters before processing them through the filtering mechanisms. This weakness creates opportunities for attackers to craft malicious inputs that can trigger unexpected behavior in the processing engine. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that the attack vectors require minimal technical sophistication, while the requirement for human interaction suggests that successful exploitation typically involves social engineering elements or user-specific actions that facilitate the attack.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability can result in complete denial of service conditions where the affected Oracle Outside In Technology components become unresponsive or repeatedly crash. The availability impact is rated as high (CVSS score of 7.1) indicating that attackers can reliably cause system downtime through this vulnerability. Additionally, the confidentiality impact is rated as low to moderate, suggesting that unauthorized read access to certain data within the affected system may occur, though the scope of accessible information appears to be limited to a subset of available data rather than complete system compromise. The vulnerability's potential for causing repeated crashes means that legitimate users may experience service interruptions that could severely impact business operations.
The security implications extend beyond simple service disruption, as this vulnerability could potentially be leveraged as a stepping stone for more sophisticated attacks within a compromised environment. Organizations utilizing affected versions of Oracle Fusion Middleware should consider the broader implications of this vulnerability in their overall security posture, particularly given that the technology is often used in enterprise applications that process sensitive documents and data. The CVSS vector indicates that this vulnerability is accessible over a network (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L) and no authentication requirements (PR:N), making it particularly attractive to automated attack tools. Security professionals should implement immediate mitigations including patching affected systems, network segmentation to limit access to vulnerable services, and monitoring for suspicious network activity that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's characteristics align with CWE-129, which covers improper validation of input boundaries, and could potentially map to ATT&CK techniques involving initial access through network services and privilege escalation through service disruption.