CVE-2020-14528 in Primavera Portfolio Management
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Primavera Portfolio Management product of Oracle Construction and Engineering (component: Web Access). Supported versions that are affected are 16.1.0.0-16.1.5.1, 18.0.0.0-18.0.2.0 and 19.0.0.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Primavera Portfolio Management. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Primavera 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 Portfolio Management accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of Primavera Portfolio Management accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 6.1 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/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 • 10/31/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-14528 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle Construction and Engineering's Primavera Portfolio Management system, specifically within its Web Access component. This vulnerability affects multiple version ranges including 16.1.0.0 through 16.1.5.1, 18.0.0.0 through 18.0.2.0, and 19.0.0.0, making it a widespread concern across the product's lifecycle. The flaw manifests as an easily exploitable security weakness that enables unauthenticated attackers to compromise the system through network access using HTTP protocols. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers require minimal technical expertise to leverage this weakness, making it particularly dangerous in production environments where such systems are often exposed to external networks.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient authentication mechanisms within the web access layer of Primavera Portfolio Management, allowing attackers to bypass normal access controls without requiring valid credentials. This weakness creates a pathway for unauthorized individuals to interact with the system's data management functions, specifically enabling them to perform unauthorized update, insert, or delete operations on sensitive data within the system's accessible database. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple data access, as it can also facilitate unauthorized read access to a subset of the system's data, potentially exposing confidential project information, financial data, or operational details. The CVSS 3.1 scoring of 6.1 reflects the moderate severity of the issue, with confidentiality and integrity impacts rated as low, while the vector analysis indicates network accessibility with low attack complexity and no privilege requirements.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends significantly beyond the immediate Primavera Portfolio Management system, as successful exploitation can potentially affect additional products within the Oracle Construction and Engineering ecosystem. This cascading effect demonstrates how a single vulnerability in one component can create broader security implications across interconnected systems, particularly in enterprise environments where multiple Oracle products may be integrated. The requirement for human interaction from a person other than the attacker suggests that the vulnerability may be exploitable through social engineering tactics or by leveraging user trust, potentially through phishing campaigns or other deceptive methods that prompt users to interact with malicious web content. The vulnerability's ability to compromise data integrity through unauthorized modifications means that project data could be altered without detection, potentially leading to significant business disruption, financial loss, or compliance violations.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to limit access to the affected system, deployment of web application firewalls to monitor and filter HTTP traffic, and implementation of additional authentication layers where possible. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-287, which addresses improper authentication issues, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1190 for exploiting web applications and T1078 for valid accounts usage. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in the broader Oracle product portfolio, while access controls should be reviewed to ensure that only authorized personnel can interact with the system's web interfaces. The incident underscores the importance of maintaining current security patches and implementing robust monitoring procedures to detect unauthorized access attempts to critical business systems.