CVE-2021-2256 in Storage Cloud Software Appliance
Summary
by MITRE • 04/23/2021
Vulnerability in the Oracle Storage Cloud Software Appliance product of Oracle Storage Gateway (component: Management Console). The supported version that is affected is Prior to 16.3.1.4.2. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Storage Cloud Software Appliance. While the vulnerability is in Oracle Storage Cloud Software Appliance, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of Oracle Storage Cloud Software Appliance. Note: Updating the Oracle Storage Cloud Software Appliance to version 16.3.1.4.2 or later will address these vulnerabilities. Download the latest version of Oracle Storage Cloud Software Appliance from here. Refer to Document 2768897.1 for more details. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 10.0 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/26/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-2256 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle Storage Cloud Software Appliance's Management Console component. This weakness affects versions prior to 16.3.1.4.2 and constitutes a severe threat to enterprise storage infrastructure security. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers can leverage it without requiring specialized skills or privileged access, making it particularly dangerous in production environments where storage systems handle sensitive corporate data.
The technical nature of this flaw resides in the Management Console's insufficient authentication mechanisms, allowing unauthenticated attackers to gain unauthorized access through HTTP network connections. This represents a fundamental failure in the principle of least privilege and proper access control implementation. The vulnerability's CVSS 3.1 score of 10.0 reflects the maximum severity possible, indicating complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The attack vector AV:N (network) combined with AC:L (low complexity) and PR:N (no privileges required) demonstrates how trivial it is for threat actors to exploit this weakness.
The operational impact of CVE-2021-2256 extends beyond the immediate compromise of the Oracle Storage Cloud Software Appliance itself. The vulnerability's potential to affect additional products within the Oracle Storage Gateway ecosystem creates cascading security risks that organizations must consider. Successful exploitation can lead to complete system takeover, enabling attackers to manipulate storage configurations, access sensitive data, and potentially disrupt business operations. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1071.004 (Application Layer Protocol: DNS) and T1046 (Network Service Scanning) where attackers might initially probe for this vulnerability before executing more sophisticated attacks.
Organizations facing this vulnerability should prioritize immediate remediation through the mandatory update to Oracle Storage Cloud Software Appliance version 16.3.1.4.2 or later. The CVSS vector (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H) clearly indicates that this vulnerability can cause catastrophic impacts including high confidentiality, integrity, and availability breaches. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) and potentially CWE-312 (Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information) if sensitive data is stored without proper encryption. The security implications extend to compliance requirements under standards such as NIST SP 800-53 and ISO 27001, where inadequate authentication mechanisms can result in significant regulatory penalties. Organizations should implement network segmentation, monitor for suspicious HTTP traffic, and conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify systems potentially affected by this flaw. The remediation process should include thorough testing of the updated software to ensure that the patch does not introduce compatibility issues with existing storage configurations and business applications.