CVE-2020-14822 in Installed Base
Summary
by MITRE • 10/21/2020
Vulnerability in the Oracle Installed Base product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: APIs). Supported versions that are affected are 12.1.1 - 12.1.3 and 12.2.3 - 12.2.10. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Installed Base. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Oracle Installed Base, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle Installed Base 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 • 11/23/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-14822 represents a significant security weakness within Oracle E-Business Suite's Installed Base component, specifically affecting API interfaces that govern data management operations. This flaw exists in multiple version ranges including 12.1.1 through 12.1.3 and 12.2.3 through 12.2.10, indicating a prolonged period of exposure across several major releases. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable suggests that attackers can leverage standard network-based HTTP access to compromise the system without requiring authentication credentials, making it particularly dangerous in environments where network accessibility is not properly restricted.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the Installed Base APIs, which allows malicious actors to perform unauthorized data manipulation operations. The CVSS 3.1 scoring system assigns this vulnerability a base score of 4.7 with a vector of AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N, indicating network accessibility, low attack complexity, no privilege requirements, and the need for human interaction to complete successful exploitation. The integrity impact rating of low suggests that while the vulnerability enables unauthorized modifications to data, it does not necessarily provide complete system compromise or data exfiltration capabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond the immediate Installed Base component, as the attack vector can potentially influence additional Oracle E-Business Suite products that rely on the same underlying infrastructure or data models. Successful exploitation enables attackers to perform unauthorized update, insert, or delete operations on sensitive data within the Installed Base, potentially leading to data corruption, unauthorized modifications, or disruption of business processes that depend on accurate installed base information. The requirement for human interaction indicates that while automated exploitation is possible, attackers typically need to convince users to perform specific actions that trigger the vulnerable API calls, making this vulnerability particularly insidious in social engineering scenarios.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to limit access to the affected APIs, deployment of web application firewalls to monitor and filter HTTP requests, and implementation of proper access controls and authentication mechanisms. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and potentially CWE-352 (Cross-Site Request Forgery) categories, reflecting the core issue of inadequate authorization controls within the API interfaces. Security teams should also consider implementing monitoring and alerting mechanisms to detect suspicious API activity patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, as well as conducting comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify any related components that might share similar access control weaknesses. The CVSS vector suggests that while this vulnerability is not highly critical from an automated exploitation standpoint, the combination of network accessibility and the potential for data integrity compromise makes it a serious concern for organizations relying on Oracle E-Business Suite deployments.