CVE-2019-2742 in BI Publisher
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle BI Publisher component of Oracle Fusion Middleware (subcomponent: Web Service API). The supported version that is affected is 11.1.1.9.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle BI Publisher. While the vulnerability is in Oracle BI Publisher, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle BI Publisher accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of Oracle BI Publisher accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 7.2 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-2742 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle BI Publisher component of Oracle Fusion Middleware, specifically affecting version 11.1.1.9.0. This vulnerability resides within the Web Service API subcomponent and demonstrates how seemingly isolated components can pose significant risks to broader enterprise ecosystems. The flaw exists in the way the system handles incoming HTTP requests through its web service interface, creating an attack surface that can be exploited by malicious actors without requiring authentication credentials or prior access privileges.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and access control mechanisms within the Oracle BI Publisher web service API. Attackers can exploit this weakness by sending specially crafted HTTP requests that bypass normal authentication procedures, allowing them to execute unauthorized operations against the affected system. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that the attack vector requires minimal technical sophistication, making it particularly dangerous for organizations that do not maintain robust network segmentation and monitoring controls. This weakness specifically enables unauthenticated attackers to perform data manipulation operations including updates, inserts, and deletes, as well as read access to sensitive data within the system's accessible data scope.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-2742 extends beyond the immediate compromise of Oracle BI Publisher itself, potentially affecting interconnected systems and applications that rely on the publisher's data or services. The CVSS 3.0 base score of 7.2 reflects the severity of the vulnerability, with medium impact on confidentiality and integrity, while the scope of the attack is classified as "changed," indicating that successful exploitation could affect additional products beyond the directly targeted component. This characteristic aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and demonstrates how weaknesses in one system component can create cascading security risks throughout an organization's IT infrastructure. The vulnerability's ability to enable unauthorized data modification and reading operations creates significant risks for data integrity and confidentiality, potentially exposing sensitive business information and allowing for malicious data manipulation.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including network-level restrictions such as firewall rules that limit access to the affected web service API, deployment of intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious HTTP traffic patterns, and application-level controls to validate and sanitize all incoming requests. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the T1190 (Exploit Public-Facing Application) technique, highlighting the importance of securing externally accessible services and implementing proper access controls. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing network segmentation to isolate the affected component, regularly monitoring system logs for unauthorized access attempts, and ensuring that all Oracle products are kept up to date with the latest security patches. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of maintaining comprehensive security monitoring and incident response capabilities, as well as the necessity of conducting regular vulnerability assessments to identify and remediate similar weaknesses across the entire enterprise infrastructure.