CVE-2021-2062 in BI Publisher
Summary
by MITRE • 01/20/2021
Vulnerability in the Oracle BI Publisher product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Web Server). Supported versions that are affected are 5.5.0.0.0, 11.1.1.9.0, 12.2.1.3.0 and 12.2.1.4.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle BI Publisher. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Oracle BI Publisher, 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 BI Publisher accessible data as well as unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle BI Publisher accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 7.6 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/16/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-2062 represents a significant security weakness within Oracle BI Publisher, a component of Oracle Fusion Middleware that operates within web server environments. This flaw affects specific versions including 5.5.0.0.0, 11.1.1.9.0, 12.2.1.3.0, and 12.2.1.4.0, making it a widespread concern across multiple release lines of the Oracle BI Publisher suite. The vulnerability resides in the web server component of the Fusion Middleware stack, which serves as a critical interface for business intelligence reporting and data visualization capabilities.
The technical nature of this vulnerability manifests as an easily exploitable flaw that requires minimal prerequisites for successful exploitation. An attacker with low privilege levels and network access via HTTP protocols can leverage this weakness to compromise the Oracle BI Publisher system. The attack vector specifically involves HTTP communication channels, making it accessible through standard web browsing mechanisms. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that the attack methods are well-documented and straightforward to implement, reducing the barrier for potential threat actors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond the immediate Oracle BI Publisher environment and can significantly affect additional Oracle products within the same ecosystem. This cascading effect demonstrates the interconnected nature of Oracle Fusion Middleware components, where compromising one element can potentially provide access to broader enterprise data systems. The vulnerability's potential for unauthorized access to critical data represents a severe concern for organizations relying on BI Publisher for business intelligence operations, particularly those handling sensitive corporate information or regulatory data.
The CVSS 3.1 scoring system rates this vulnerability at 7.6 out of 10, reflecting a high severity classification that combines confidentiality and integrity impacts. The vector configuration CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N indicates that the attack requires network access with low complexity, only low privilege levels, and human interaction from a non-attacker, while the scope can cause impacts to additional products. The high confidentiality impact (C:H) suggests that successful exploitation could result in complete exposure of sensitive data accessible through the BI Publisher system, while the low integrity impact (I:L) indicates that unauthorized modifications to data are possible but limited in scope.
Security practitioners should consider this vulnerability in relation to the CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) and CWE-352 (Cross-Site Request Forgery) categories, which align with the authentication bypass and session management weaknesses that often characterize such web server vulnerabilities. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving credential access and privilege escalation, potentially enabling adversaries to move laterally within Oracle environments and access additional systems through the compromised BI Publisher instance. The requirement for human interaction suggests that social engineering or targeted phishing campaigns could be employed to facilitate exploitation, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where user awareness may be limited.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation through Oracle's security patches and updates, while implementing network segmentation to limit access to the affected BI Publisher instances. Additional mitigations include strengthening authentication mechanisms, implementing web application firewalls, and monitoring for unusual access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments of Oracle Fusion Middleware environments should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities, and access controls should be reviewed to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to critical BI Publisher functionalities. The vulnerability's impact on data integrity and confidentiality makes it essential for organizations to maintain robust backup and recovery procedures, as well as incident response plans specifically addressing Oracle BI Publisher compromises.