CVE-2021-2245 in Oracle
Summary
by MITRE • 04/23/2021
Vulnerability in the Oracle Database - Enterprise Edition Unified Audit component of Oracle Database Server. Supported versions that are affected are 18c and 19c. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high privileged attacker having Create Audit Policy privilege with network access via Oracle Net to compromise Oracle Database - Enterprise Edition Unified Audit. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle Database - Enterprise Edition Unified Audit accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 2.7 (Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/24/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-2245 resides within the Oracle Database Enterprise Edition Unified Audit component, representing a significant security weakness that affects Oracle Database versions 18c and 19c. This flaw operates within the broader context of database security management systems where audit policies govern access controls and monitoring mechanisms. The vulnerability specifically targets the unified audit framework that consolidates audit data from various database components into a single audit trail, making it a critical element for database security posture management. The affected component's design creates a pathway for malicious actors to manipulate audit policies and potentially compromise the integrity of audit data within the database environment.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to possess the Create Audit Policy privilege, which represents a high-privileged position within the database security model. This prerequisite aligns with CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management, where insufficient access controls allow unauthorized users to perform administrative functions. The attack vector utilizes Oracle Net network protocols, which means the vulnerability can be exploited from external network positions, making it particularly dangerous in environments where database servers are accessible over networks. The CVSS 3.1 scoring system assigns a base score of 2.7 with a low attack complexity and high privilege requirement, indicating that while exploitation requires elevated privileges, the attack surface is relatively accessible once those privileges are obtained.
The operational impact of this vulnerability manifests primarily through integrity violations in the database audit system, allowing attackers to perform unauthorized update, insert, or delete operations on audit data. This represents a direct compromise of the database's audit trail functionality, which is fundamental to security monitoring and compliance requirements. The vulnerability's classification under CVSS vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N indicates that while the attack requires network access and high privileges, the potential for data integrity compromise is significant. The affected database components include the unified audit system that collects and manages audit information from various database operations, making this a particularly concerning flaw for organizations that rely on comprehensive audit trails for security monitoring and regulatory compliance.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including restricting the Create Audit Policy privilege to only essential administrative personnel, implementing network segmentation to limit access to database servers, and conducting comprehensive privilege reviews to identify any unnecessary audit policy creation capabilities. The vulnerability's characteristics align with ATT&CK technique T1562.006: Impair Defenses - Data Destruction, where adversaries target audit and logging mechanisms to evade detection. Regular monitoring of audit policy creation activities and implementing automated alerts for suspicious privilege usage patterns can help detect potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should ensure their database environments are properly patched according to Oracle's security advisories and consider implementing database activity monitoring solutions that can detect anomalies in audit data manipulation. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of principle of least privilege enforcement and proper access control management in database security architectures.