CVE-2019-2869 in Berkeley DB
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Data Store component of Oracle Berkeley DB. Supported versions that are affected are 12.1.6.1.23, 12.1.6.1.26, 12.1.6.1.29, 12.1.6.1.36, 12.1.6.2.23 and 12.1.6.2.32. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with logon to the infrastructure where Data Store executes to compromise Data Store. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of Data Store. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 7.0 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/05/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-2869 resides within Oracle Berkeley DB's Data Store component, representing a significant security weakness that affects multiple specific version releases including 12.1.6.1.23 through 12.1.6.1.36 and 12.1.6.2.23 through 12.1.6.2.32. This flaw manifests as a difficult-to-exploit condition that enables unauthorized access to the database system when an attacker can establish logon credentials to the underlying infrastructure where the Data Store operates. The vulnerability's classification as a local access vector (AV:L) indicates that exploitation requires physical or network access to the target system, while the high attack complexity (AC:H) suggests that sophisticated techniques are necessary to successfully compromise the system. The requirement for human interaction (UI:R) implies that additional social engineering or user-assisted actions are needed for successful exploitation, making this vulnerability less straightforward than typical remote attacks.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls or authentication mechanisms within the Data Store component, allowing an attacker with legitimate system access to potentially escalate privileges or gain unauthorized control over database operations. The CVSS 3.0 base score of 7.0 reflects the severity of impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability domains, with all three metrics rated as high (C:H/I:H/A:H). This comprehensive impact rating indicates that successful exploitation could result in complete system compromise, where the attacker gains full control over the Data Store operations and potentially the underlying database content. The vulnerability's characteristics align with CWE-284, which describes improper access control issues in software systems, and represents a critical weakness in the authorization mechanisms that should protect database resources from unauthorized access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data compromise, as successful attacks can lead to complete takeover of the Data Store functionality, potentially resulting in data loss, unauthorized modifications to database contents, or complete service disruption. Organizations utilizing affected Oracle Berkeley DB versions face significant risk when their systems are compromised, particularly in environments where database integrity and availability are critical for business operations. The requirement for human interaction suggests that social engineering attacks or insider threats may be particularly effective in exploiting this weakness, as attackers would need to manipulate users into performing actions that facilitate the compromise. This vulnerability directly impacts the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation and persistence tactics, as successful exploitation could allow attackers to maintain long-term access to database resources.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-2869 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Oracle Berkeley DB versions to the latest supported releases that contain fixes for this vulnerability. Organizations must implement robust access control measures including multi-factor authentication, network segmentation, and regular security audits to reduce the attack surface available to potential adversaries. The implementation of principle of least privilege should be enforced to ensure that database access is restricted to authorized personnel only, while monitoring and logging mechanisms should be enhanced to detect suspicious activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify and remediate similar access control weaknesses throughout the organization's database infrastructure, ensuring comprehensive protection against both current and emerging threats that could exploit similar privilege escalation vulnerabilities.