CVE-2020-14585 in BI Publisher
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle BI Publisher product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Mobile Service). Supported versions that are affected are 11.1.1.9.0, 12.2.1.3.0 and 12.2.1.4.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle BI Publisher. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Oracle BI Publisher, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle BI Publisher accessible data as well as unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle BI Publisher accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 8.2 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/01/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-14585 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle BI Publisher's Mobile Service component of the Fusion Middleware suite. This vulnerability affects specific version ranges including 11.1.1.9.0, 12.2.1.3.0, and 12.2.1.4.0, making it a widespread concern for organizations utilizing these middleware versions. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers can leverage it with minimal technical sophistication, requiring only network access via HTTP protocols to initiate attacks. The security implications extend beyond the immediate target application, as successful exploitation can impact additional Oracle products within the ecosystem, creating cascading security risks that organizations must carefully consider.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient authentication mechanisms within the Mobile Service component, allowing unauthenticated attackers to gain unauthorized access to critical data within Oracle BI Publisher. The CVSS 3.1 score of 8.2 reflects the severity of potential impacts, with high confidentiality impact and low integrity impact, indicating that attackers can potentially access sensitive data without detection while maintaining relatively low risk of data modification. The vulnerability's attack vector requires network access via HTTP, making it particularly concerning as it can be exploited from remote locations without requiring physical access or prior authentication credentials. The fact that successful exploitation requires human interaction from individuals other than the attacker suggests that social engineering or user-based attack vectors may be involved, potentially through phishing or other deceptive means that trick users into initiating malicious actions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial, as it can result in unauthorized access to all Oracle BI Publisher accessible data, potentially exposing sensitive business intelligence, financial reports, and operational data. The ability to achieve complete access to critical data combined with unauthorized update, insert, or delete access to some data presents a dual threat that can compromise both data confidentiality and integrity. Organizations running affected versions of Oracle BI Publisher face significant risk of data breaches, potential regulatory violations, and operational disruptions that could affect business continuity and stakeholder trust. The CVSS vector indicates that while the attack requires user interaction, the potential damage is severe enough to warrant immediate attention and remediation efforts across affected systems.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching and mitigation strategies to address this vulnerability, as the combination of low attack complexity and high impact makes it particularly dangerous. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues, and can be mapped to ATT&CK techniques involving initial access through web application attacks and credential access through unauthorized data access. Security teams should implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts, review access controls and authentication mechanisms, and consider implementing additional security layers such as web application firewalls or network segmentation to limit potential impact. Regular vulnerability assessments and security audits should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other Oracle products and ensure comprehensive protection against similar attack vectors. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of maintaining current security patches and following Oracle's security advisory practices to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities in enterprise applications.