CVE-2021-2223 in Receivables
Summary
by MITRE • 04/23/2021
Vulnerability in the Oracle Receivables product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Receipts). Supported versions that are affected are 12.1.1-12.1.3. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Receivables. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized creation, deletion or modification access to critical data or all Oracle Receivables accessible data as well as unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle Receivables accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 8.1 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N).
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/25/2021
This vulnerability resides within Oracle Receivables, a critical component of Oracle E-Business Suite that manages customer receivables and payment processing operations. The flaw affects versions 12.1.1 through 12.1.3, representing a significant attack surface for organizations utilizing legacy Oracle E-Business Suite deployments. The vulnerability manifests as an insufficient authorization mechanism that allows low-privileged attackers to exploit HTTP network access points to gain unauthorized access to sensitive financial data. This represents a serious security gap in Oracle's access control implementation, particularly concerning the Receipts component which handles critical financial transactions and customer payment information.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and access control checks within the Oracle Receivables application layer. Attackers can leverage this weakness through HTTP requests to manipulate the system's data access controls, potentially enabling them to create, delete, or modify sensitive receivables data without proper authorization. The CVSS 3.1 score of 8.1 indicates a high-severity vulnerability with significant impact on both confidentiality and integrity of the affected data. This vulnerability falls under CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 (Valid Accounts) and T1566 (Phishing) as attackers can exploit weak access controls to escalate privileges and gain unauthorized access to financial information. The attack vector requires only network access via HTTP, making it easily exploitable by attackers who can reach the application through standard network connections.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple data exposure, as it enables attackers to compromise the integrity of financial records and potentially manipulate customer payment information. Organizations using affected Oracle E-Business Suite versions face significant risk of financial fraud, data manipulation, and regulatory compliance violations. The vulnerability allows unauthorized modification of receivables data, which could result in incorrect billing, revenue recognition issues, and potential financial losses. Additionally, the ability to access all Oracle Receivables accessible data means that attackers could potentially obtain sensitive customer information, payment details, and business-critical financial data that could be used for further attacks or sold on the black market. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations with limited network segmentation and insufficient monitoring of HTTP traffic to their financial applications.
Organizations should immediately implement the patch provided by Oracle as a primary mitigation strategy, as this addresses the root cause of the access control weakness. Network segmentation should be enhanced to limit direct HTTP access to Oracle Receivables applications, particularly in environments where the application is exposed to untrusted networks. Implementing robust network monitoring and intrusion detection systems can help identify suspicious HTTP requests and unauthorized access attempts to the receivables module. Security teams should conduct immediate assessment of access controls and privilege assignments within the Oracle E-Business Suite environment to identify any potential unauthorized accounts or overly permissive access rights. Additionally, organizations should implement application-level logging and monitoring specifically for receivables transactions to detect any unauthorized modifications or access attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be performed to identify similar access control weaknesses in other Oracle E-Business Suite components and ensure that proper security configurations are maintained across the entire financial application stack.