CVE-2019-2871 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-2019-2871 resides within Oracle Berkeley DB's Data Store component, representing a significant security weakness that affects multiple 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 issue that requires an attacker to already possess logon credentials to the target infrastructure where the Data Store operates, making it a privilege escalation vulnerability rather than a straightforward remote attack vector. The vulnerability's classification under CVSS 3.0 with a base score of 7.0 indicates a high-severity threat that impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability simultaneously, reflecting the comprehensive nature of potential damage.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate access controls within the Data Store component, allowing authenticated but unauthorized users to potentially gain control over the database system. The attack requires human interaction from individuals other than the attacker, suggesting that social engineering or insider threats may be necessary components for exploitation. This requirement for human interaction aligns with attack patterns described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under privilege escalation techniques, where attackers leverage existing access to expand their capabilities within a system. The vulnerability's location within the Data Store component places it at the core of database operations, making it particularly dangerous as it could enable complete system compromise.
From an operational impact perspective, successful exploitation of CVE-2019-2871 could result in complete takeover of the Data Store system, potentially allowing attackers to access sensitive data, modify database contents, or disrupt system availability entirely. The affected versions span multiple release branches, indicating this vulnerability has persisted across several maintenance cycles, suggesting a fundamental flaw in the access control implementation rather than a simple patchable oversight. Organizations running these specific versions face significant risk as the vulnerability could be exploited to gain unauthorized access to critical data stored within Berkeley DB instances, particularly in environments where database administrators may have elevated privileges.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems to the latest supported versions of Oracle Berkeley DB where the flaw has been addressed. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit the potential attack surface, while monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect unusual database access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification as requiring human interaction suggests that employee security awareness training becomes crucial, as social engineering components may be necessary for successful exploitation. Organizations should also implement comprehensive audit logging to track access to database systems and establish incident response procedures specifically addressing database compromise scenarios. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and represents a critical weakness in database security that requires immediate attention from security teams to prevent potential data breaches and system compromises.