CVE-2019-2896 in MICROS Relate CRM Software
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the MICROS Relate CRM Software product of Oracle Retail Applications (component: Internal Operations). Supported versions that are affected are 7.1.0, 15.0.0, 16.0.0, 17.0.0, and 18.0.0. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise MICROS Relate CRM Software. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all MICROS Relate CRM Software accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 5.9 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/15/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-2896 represents a significant security weakness within Oracle Retail Applications' MICROS Relate CRM Software, specifically within the Internal Operations component. This flaw affects multiple major versions including 7.1.0, 15.0.0, 16.0.0, 17.0.0, and 18.0.0, indicating a widespread impact across the product's lifecycle. The vulnerability's classification as difficult to exploit suggests that while it requires some technical skill to leverage, the attack surface remains accessible to determined adversaries who can establish network connectivity to the target system. The CVSS 3.0 score of 5.9 places this vulnerability in the medium severity category, though the confidentiality impact rating of high (C:H) indicates that successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive customer relationship management data.
The technical nature of this vulnerability lies in the insufficient authentication mechanisms within the HTTP interface of the MICROS Relate CRM software, allowing unauthenticated attackers to access critical system resources. This represents a fundamental breakdown in the principle of least privilege and proper access control implementation. The vulnerability's characteristics align with CWE-287, which addresses improper authentication issues in software systems. Attackers exploiting this weakness can potentially gain complete access to all data accessible through the CRM system, making it particularly dangerous for organizations handling sensitive customer information, transactional data, and business-critical relationships. The CVSS vector analysis reveals that the attack requires network access (AV:N) but high attack complexity (AC:H) and no privilege requirements (PR:N), indicating that while the attack is not trivial, it does not require elevated user credentials to initiate.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-2896 extends beyond simple data exposure, as the vulnerability could enable attackers to compromise the integrity and availability of customer relationship management systems that organizations rely upon for business operations. Organizations using affected versions of MICROS Relate CRM face potential data breaches that could include personally identifiable information, financial transaction details, customer communications, and strategic business data. The vulnerability's potential for unauthorized access to critical data directly violates the confidentiality tenets of the CIA triad and could result in regulatory compliance violations under various data protection frameworks. This exposure creates significant risk for businesses in retail and hospitality sectors that depend on CRM systems for customer engagement and operational management.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the relevant Oracle security patches and updates as provided in their security advisories. Network segmentation and access controls should be enhanced to limit exposure of the affected systems to only necessary network segments. The implementation of web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems can help monitor for exploitation attempts. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of the affected software versions and ensure proper authentication mechanisms are in place. According to ATT&CK framework category T1190, this vulnerability could be leveraged as a persistence mechanism after initial access, making early remediation crucial. Additionally, organizations should review their incident response procedures to ensure readiness for potential exploitation attempts targeting this specific vulnerability. The remediation approach should also include monitoring for suspicious network traffic patterns and implementing proper logging and audit trails to detect unauthorized access attempts to the CRM system.