CVE-2018-3241 in Construction
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management component of Oracle Construction and Engineering Suite (subcomponent: Web Access). Supported versions that are affected are 8.4, 15.1, 15.2, 16.1, 16.2, 17.7 - 17.12 and 18.8. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 6.1 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/25/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-3241 affects Oracle Construction and Engineering Suite's Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management component, specifically within the Web Access subcomponent. This security flaw exists in multiple version ranges including 8.4, 15.1, 15.2, 16.1, 16.2, 17.7 through 17.12, and 18.8, making it a widespread concern across various deployments of the enterprise project management platform. The vulnerability classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers can leverage this weakness without requiring specialized skills or significant resources, presenting a substantial risk to organizations relying on this critical project management infrastructure.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient authentication mechanisms within the web access interface, allowing unauthenticated attackers to gain access to the system through standard HTTP network connections. This represents a fundamental flaw in the application's security architecture where proper access controls are bypassed, enabling malicious actors to perform unauthorized operations against the database backend. The CVSS score of 6.1 reflects the moderate severity of this vulnerability, with confidentiality and integrity impacts rated as low but still significant given the potential for data manipulation and unauthorized access to project portfolio management systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond the immediate Primavera P6 environment, as indicated by the CVSS vector's scope classification of "C" (Changed), suggesting that successful exploitation can affect additional products within the broader Oracle Construction and Engineering Suite ecosystem. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can achieve unauthorized update, insert, or delete operations on sensitive project data, potentially compromising critical project timelines, resource allocations, and financial planning information. Additionally, the vulnerability enables unauthorized read access to subsets of accessible data, which could expose proprietary project information, stakeholder details, and strategic business intelligence that organizations rely on for competitive advantage.
The requirement for human interaction from a person other than the attacker suggests that while the vulnerability is easily exploitable, social engineering or targeted phishing campaigns may be necessary to initiate the attack vector, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users might be deceived into performing actions that trigger the vulnerability. Organizations should consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure, while also ensuring that all affected versions receive immediate patching updates. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1190 for Exploit Public-Facing Application, highlighting the need for comprehensive security monitoring and incident response procedures to detect and mitigate potential exploitation attempts.