CVE-2021-2272 in Subledger Accounting
Summary
by MITRE • 04/23/2021
Vulnerability in the Oracle Subledger Accounting product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Inquiries). 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 Subledger Accounting. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized creation, deletion or modification access to critical data or all Oracle Subledger Accounting accessible data as well as unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle Subledger Accounting 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).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/25/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-2272 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle Subledger Accounting component of the Oracle E-Business Suite ecosystem. This vulnerability specifically affects versions 12.1.1 through 12.1.3, making it a significant concern for organizations running these legacy systems. The flaw resides within the Inquiries functionality of the Subledger Accounting module, which serves as a critical interface for financial data access and reporting within enterprise environments. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers with minimal privileges and network access can potentially leverage this weakness to gain substantial unauthorized access to sensitive financial information.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls and authentication mechanisms within the Oracle Subledger Accounting component. Attackers with low privileged network access via HTTP protocols can exploit this weakness to perform unauthorized operations including data creation, deletion, and modification within the affected system. The vulnerability's CVSS score of 8.1 reflects the high severity impact on both confidentiality and integrity, with the potential for complete data access and modification capabilities. This represents a serious compromise of the system's security model, as the flaw allows attackers to bypass normal authorization controls and gain access to critical financial data that would typically be protected by proper access controls.
The operational impact of CVE-2021-2272 extends far beyond simple data exposure, as it creates opportunities for financial fraud, data manipulation, and business disruption. Organizations utilizing affected Oracle E-Business Suite versions face potential unauthorized modification of financial records, which could lead to significant financial losses, regulatory violations, and compromised audit trails. The vulnerability's ability to provide access to all Oracle Subledger Accounting accessible data means that attackers could potentially compromise entire financial databases, affecting transaction records, account balances, and other critical accounting information. This vulnerability directly impacts the principles of data integrity and confidentiality that are fundamental to enterprise financial systems and could result in severe operational and legal consequences for affected organizations.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of affected Oracle E-Business Suite installations to version 12.1.4 or higher, where the vulnerability has been addressed through official security updates. Organizations should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit HTTP access to the affected components, particularly restricting access to only authorized administrative users. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual access patterns or unauthorized data modification attempts within the Subledger Accounting module. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and represents a significant concern under ATT&CK framework category TA0006 (Credential Access) and TA0008 (Lateral Movement) as attackers can potentially use this vulnerability to escalate privileges and move laterally within the network. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify any other potentially affected components within their Oracle E-Business Suite environment and ensure that proper network access controls are implemented to prevent unauthorized access to critical financial data repositories.