CVE-2020-2859 in PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: nVision). Supported versions that are affected are 8.56, 8.57 and 8.58. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 7.5 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/25/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-2859 resides within Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools, specifically affecting the nVision component across versions 8.56, 8.57, and 8.58. This represents a significant security weakness that falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category of CWE-284, which deals with improper access control mechanisms. The flaw manifests as an insufficient authorization check that allows any unauthenticated network attacker to exploit the system through HTTP connections, creating a critical exposure in enterprise financial and business management platforms.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and access control mechanisms within the nVision module of PeopleTools. Attackers can leverage this weakness to send malicious HTTP requests that trigger a denial of service condition, causing the affected system to hang or repeatedly crash. The vulnerability's exploitability score of 7.5 on the CVSS scale indicates a high severity threat with low complexity requirements, making it particularly dangerous as it requires no authentication credentials to execute successfully. The attack vector is network-based, meaning that an attacker positioned outside the corporate firewall can potentially compromise the system without needing insider knowledge or credentials.
The operational impact of CVE-2020-2859 extends beyond simple system availability issues, as it can render critical business applications inaccessible to legitimate users and administrators. Organizations utilizing PeopleSoft for financial reporting, budgeting, and other essential business processes face substantial disruption when this vulnerability is exploited. The complete denial of service condition affects not just individual users but entire departments or business units that rely on nVision functionality for their operations. This vulnerability directly impacts the availability aspect of the CIA triad, potentially causing financial losses, compliance violations, and operational downtime that can last from hours to days depending on the recovery procedures in place.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network-level restrictions such as firewall rules that limit access to PeopleTools ports and services, particularly those exposed to external networks. The implementation of web application firewalls and intrusion prevention systems can help detect and block malicious HTTP requests targeting this vulnerability. Oracle recommends applying the relevant security patches and updates as soon as they become available, as these fixes typically address the underlying authorization flaws in the nVision component. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough network segmentation to isolate PeopleTools installations from critical business systems and implement monitoring solutions to detect unusual patterns of access attempts or system behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices and adhering to the principle of least privilege for all system components, as demonstrated by the ATT&CK framework's emphasis on privilege escalation and defense evasion techniques that attackers might employ when exploiting such access control weaknesses.