CVE-2020-2706 in Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management product of Oracle Construction and Engineering (component: Project Manager). Supported versions that are affected are 16.2.0.0 - 16.2.19.3, 17.12.0.0 - 17.12.17.0, 18.8.0.0 - 18.8.18.0, 19.12.1.0 - 19.12.3.0 and 20.1.0.0 - 20.2.0.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Primavera P6 Enterprise Project 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 P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 5.4 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/08/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-2706 affects Oracle Construction and Engineering's Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management software, specifically within the Project Manager component. This issue represents a significant security weakness that can be exploited by attackers with minimal privileges and network access through HTTP protocols. The vulnerability impacts multiple version ranges including 16.2.0.0 through 16.2.19.3, 17.12.0.0 through 17.12.17.0, 18.8.0.0 through 18.8.18.0, 19.12.1.0 through 19.12.3.0, and 20.1.0.0 through 20.2.0.0, indicating a broad scope of affected systems across different major releases. The CVSS 3.0 base score of 5.4 reflects a medium severity classification with particular emphasis on confidentiality and integrity impacts, as evidenced by the vector CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient access controls within the Project Manager component, allowing low-privileged attackers to potentially perform unauthorized operations against the system's data. This vulnerability requires human interaction from users other than the attacker, suggesting that social engineering or targeted phishing approaches may be necessary for exploitation. The attack surface extends beyond the primary application to potentially impact additional products within the Oracle Construction and Engineering ecosystem, creating cascading security risks. The vulnerability enables attackers to execute unauthorized update, insert, or delete operations on sensitive data within the Primavera P6 system, while also providing unauthorized read access to specific subsets of accessible data. This dual capability for both data modification and unauthorized access represents a comprehensive threat to the integrity and confidentiality of project portfolio management information.
The operational impact of CVE-2020-2706 is substantial for organizations relying on Primavera P6 for critical project management functions. Successful exploitation could lead to data corruption through unauthorized modifications, potentially disrupting project timelines, resource allocation, and financial planning within enterprise project portfolios. The unauthorized read access capability poses significant confidentiality risks, as attackers could extract sensitive project information, resource details, budget allocations, and strategic planning data that organizations typically consider proprietary. Organizations utilizing this software for complex project management across multiple departments and business units face heightened risk of operational disruption and competitive disadvantage. The vulnerability's requirement for human interaction suggests that organizations with robust security awareness training may be better protected, though this protection is not absolute and should not be relied upon as the sole mitigation strategy.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation measures including applying the relevant Oracle security patches and updates released to address this vulnerability. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit unnecessary HTTP access to the Primavera P6 system, while monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual access patterns or data modification attempts. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all affected systems and ensure proper patch management procedures are in place. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and may be categorized under ATT&CK techniques related to privilege escalation and credential access. Additional defensive measures should include implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative access, conducting regular security audits, and establishing incident response procedures specifically for potential exploitation of this class of vulnerability. Organizations should also consider implementing database activity monitoring and change tracking mechanisms to detect unauthorized modifications to project data that could indicate successful exploitation of this vulnerability.