CVE-2020-14667 in CRM Technical Foundation
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle CRM Technical Foundation product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Preferences). Supported versions that are affected are 12.1.3 and 12.2.3-12.2.9. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle CRM Technical Foundation. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Oracle CRM Technical Foundation, 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 CRM Technical Foundation accessible data as well as unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle CRM Technical Foundation accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 7.6 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/31/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-14667 resides within Oracle CRM Technical Foundation component of the Oracle E-Business Suite, specifically within the Preferences module. This flaw represents a critical security weakness that affects Oracle E-Business Suite versions 12.1.3 and 12.2.3 through 12.2.9, making it a widespread issue across multiple release branches. The vulnerability operates within the technical foundation layer of Oracle CRM, which serves as a core infrastructure component for customer relationship management functionality and is integral to enterprise business operations. The affected component handles user preferences and configuration settings, which makes it a prime target for attackers seeking to manipulate system behavior and access sensitive data.
This vulnerability manifests as an insufficient authorization check within the Preferences functionality, allowing a low privileged attacker to exploit a path traversal or access control flaw through HTTP network connections. The attack requires minimal technical sophistication as indicated by the CVSS score of 7.6, with low attack complexity and the need for only network access. The security weakness is particularly concerning because it can be exploited through standard web protocols without requiring special privileges initially, making it accessible to attackers who might not have direct system access. The vulnerability's exploitation pathway involves HTTP requests that can be crafted to bypass normal access controls, potentially allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive system components.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond the immediate scope of Oracle CRM Technical Foundation, as successful exploitation can compromise additional Oracle products within the same E-Business Suite environment. This cascading effect occurs because Oracle E-Business Suite components often share common infrastructure, databases, and authentication mechanisms, creating a ripple effect of potential compromise. The vulnerability's ability to enable unauthorized access to critical data aligns with CWE-285, which addresses insufficient authorization issues in software systems. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can achieve complete access to all Oracle CRM Technical Foundation accessible data, potentially including sensitive customer information, business configurations, and operational parameters that could severely impact business continuity and regulatory compliance.
The security implications of this vulnerability are particularly severe given that attackers can achieve unauthorized update, insert, or delete access to Oracle CRM Technical Foundation data, which creates opportunities for data manipulation and system integrity compromise. This capability aligns with the CVSS vector characteristics indicating high confidentiality impact and low integrity impact, suggesting that while the primary concern is unauthorized data access, the potential for data modification exists. The requirement for human interaction from a person other than the attacker indicates that social engineering or targeted user engagement might be necessary to complete the attack, potentially through phishing or targeted email campaigns. Organizations should consider this vulnerability in the context of ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation and credential access techniques, as the attack pattern involves leveraging existing user sessions or access to potentially manipulate system preferences and gain deeper access.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patch application as provided by Oracle, which addresses the authorization flaw in the Preferences component. Network segmentation and access control measures should be implemented to limit exposure of Oracle E-Business Suite components to untrusted networks, while monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual access patterns or preference modifications. Organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of their E-Business Suite environments to identify any potential compromise and implement proper access controls for user preferences functionality. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies, particularly in enterprise environments where multiple Oracle products share common infrastructure components. Regular security audits and privileged access management should be enhanced to prevent exploitation of similar authorization flaws in other Oracle applications within the suite.