CVE-2020-2841 in Knowledge Management
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle Knowledge Management product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Setup, Admin). Supported versions that are affected are 12.1.1-12.1.3. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Knowledge Management. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Oracle Knowledge Management, 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 Knowledge Management accessible data as well as unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle Knowledge Management accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 8.2 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/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 • 05/08/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-2841 resides within Oracle Knowledge Management, a component of the Oracle E-Business Suite that falls under the broader category of enterprise application security. This particular flaw affects versions 12.1.1 through 12.1.3, representing a significant exposure period for organizations utilizing these legacy systems. The vulnerability operates within the Setup and Admin components of the Knowledge Management module, making it particularly concerning as administrative functions often contain sensitive data and control mechanisms that should remain protected from unauthorized access.
The technical nature of this vulnerability manifests as an easily exploitable weakness that permits unauthenticated attackers to compromise the Oracle Knowledge Management system through HTTP network connections. This represents a critical flaw in the security architecture of the system, as it removes the fundamental authentication barrier that should protect sensitive data and administrative functions. The vulnerability's classification as CVSS 3.0 Base Score 8.2 indicates a high severity level with significant impacts to confidentiality and integrity, while the vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N reveals that network-based attacks require low complexity, no privileges, but necessitate user interaction to succeed. This particular combination makes the vulnerability especially dangerous as it can be leveraged by attackers without requiring any prior authentication credentials or elevated privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond just the immediate compromise of Oracle Knowledge Management data. The successful exploitation can result in unauthorized access to critical data, potentially exposing sensitive business information, intellectual property, or confidential documents stored within the knowledge management system. Additionally, attackers can gain unauthorized update, insert, or delete access to data within the system, allowing for data manipulation and integrity compromise that could significantly disrupt business operations. The vulnerability's potential to impact additional products within the Oracle E-Business Suite ecosystem means that a single exploitation could lead to cascading effects throughout the organization's enterprise applications, creating a broader security incident than initially anticipated.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to limit access to the vulnerable Oracle Knowledge Management components, implementing robust firewall rules to restrict HTTP access, and applying the relevant Oracle patches as soon as they become available. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-287, which addresses improper authentication issues, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for social engineering, as the attack requires human interaction from users within the organization. The presence of this vulnerability in the administrative components of the system also relates to ATT&CK technique T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation, as unauthorized access to administrative functions can provide attackers with elevated privileges within the affected systems. Given the high severity score and the potential for significant data compromise, organizations should prioritize remediation efforts and conduct thorough security assessments to identify any potential exploitation attempts that may have occurred during the vulnerability's active period.