CVE-2020-14716 in Common Applications
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle Common Applications product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: CRM User Management Framework). Supported versions that are affected are 12.1.3 and 12.2.3-12.2.9. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Common Applications. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Oracle Common Applications, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle Common Applications accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 4.7 (Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/31/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-14716 resides within Oracle E-Business Suite's Common Applications component, specifically within the CRM User Management Framework. This weakness affects Oracle E-Business Suite versions 12.1.3 and 12.2.3 through 12.2.9, representing a significant exposure across multiple supported release lines. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers can leverage network-based HTTP access without requiring authentication credentials, making it particularly dangerous in environments where the application is accessible over unsecured networks. The CVSS 3.1 score of 4.7 reflects the integrity impact, suggesting that successful exploitation could enable unauthorized modification of data within the affected system. The vulnerability's vector indicates network accessibility with low attack complexity, no privilege requirements, and requires human interaction from users other than the attacker, which implies social engineering or user manipulation as part of the attack chain.
The technical flaw manifests as an insufficient authorization check within the CRM User Management Framework, allowing attackers to perform unauthorized update, insert, or delete operations on data accessible through Oracle Common Applications. This represents a critical integrity violation that could compromise the consistency and reliability of customer relationship management data. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond the immediate component, as the CVSS vector indicates a significant impact on additional products, suggesting potential cascading effects throughout the Oracle E-Business Suite ecosystem. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability could manipulate customer data, user permissions, or other critical business information without detection, potentially leading to data corruption, unauthorized access to sensitive customer information, or disruption of business processes that depend on accurate CRM data. The requirement for human interaction suggests that the attack may involve phishing, social engineering, or other manipulation techniques that trick legitimate users into performing actions that facilitate the exploitation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond immediate data integrity concerns to encompass broader security posture implications for organizations running Oracle E-Business Suite. Organizations may experience unauthorized modification of customer records, user account changes, or manipulation of business data that could affect financial reporting, customer service operations, or regulatory compliance. The vulnerability's potential to impact additional products within the Oracle ecosystem means that compromise of one component could lead to cascading failures or unauthorized access to other integrated systems. Security teams must consider the implications of this vulnerability when assessing risk and implementing defensive measures, particularly in environments where the Oracle E-Business Suite is exposed to external networks or where user interaction is common. The vulnerability's characteristics align with CWE-285 (Improper Authorization) and may relate to ATT&CK techniques involving privilege escalation and data manipulation within enterprise applications.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to limit access to Oracle E-Business Suite components, ensuring that the CRM User Management Framework is not directly accessible from untrusted networks. Access controls should be strengthened through proper authentication mechanisms and privilege management to reduce the likelihood of successful exploitation. Regular monitoring of application logs for unauthorized access attempts or suspicious activities should be implemented, with particular attention to changes in user management operations or data modifications. Patch management processes must be prioritized to ensure timely deployment of Oracle's security patches addressing this vulnerability. The implementation of network intrusion detection systems and application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection against exploitation attempts. Organizations should also conduct thorough security assessments to identify all instances of affected Oracle E-Business Suite versions and establish incident response procedures specifically addressing potential exploitation of this vulnerability. Compliance with industry standards such as NIST SP 800-53 and ISO 27001 should be maintained through proper access controls and monitoring procedures to ensure comprehensive protection against this and similar threats.