CVE-2021-35606 in PeopleSoft Enterprise CS Campus Community
Summary
by MITRE • 10/20/2021
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise CS Campus Community product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Notification Framework). Supported versions that are affected are 9.0 and 9.2. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with access to the physical communication segment attached to the hardware where the PeopleSoft Enterprise CS Campus Community executes to compromise PeopleSoft Enterprise CS Campus Community. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all PeopleSoft Enterprise CS Campus Community accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 5.7 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/26/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-35606 resides within Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise CS Campus Community product, specifically within the Notification Framework component. This represents a significant security weakness that affects versions 9.0 and 9.2 of the software, making it a persistent threat across multiple generations of the platform. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers with minimal technical expertise can leverage this flaw, particularly when they have physical access to the communication segment connected to the hardware executing the PeopleSoft application. The attack vector requires only local network access, which significantly broadens the potential threat surface as physical network segment access is often more attainable than other attack vectors.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls within the Notification Framework, which allows an attacker with low privilege access to escalate their privileges and gain unauthorized access to critical system data. The CVSS 3.1 score of 5.7 reflects the moderate to high severity impact, with the confidentiality impact rated as high, indicating that successful exploitation could lead to complete disclosure of sensitive data accessible through the PeopleSoft system. The vulnerability's characteristics align with CWE-284 Access Control Issues, specifically related to insufficient access control mechanisms that permit unauthorized access to protected resources. The attack requires an attacker to be present on the same physical communication segment, which aligns with the AV:A (Adjacent Network) classification in the CVSS vector.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, as it enables attackers to compromise the complete data environment accessible through the PeopleSoft Enterprise CS Campus Community application. This means that unauthorized individuals could potentially access student records, financial data, academic information, and other sensitive institutional data that the system typically protects. The vulnerability's ability to allow complete access to all accessible data represents a critical failure in the system's data protection mechanisms and could result in significant regulatory compliance violations, particularly under frameworks such as FERPA for educational institutions or HIPAA for healthcare organizations. The security implications are particularly severe because the attack requires minimal privileges and network proximity, making it difficult to detect and prevent through traditional network security measures.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to isolate PeopleSoft systems from general network traffic, enhanced monitoring of network segments where the application operates, and regular security assessments to identify unauthorized access attempts. The implementation of network access control lists and firewall rules to restrict access to the specific network segments hosting PeopleSoft applications can help reduce the attack surface. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing additional authentication controls and privilege management systems to limit the potential impact of any successful exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts suggests that attackers may leverage legitimate accounts to exploit this weakness, making user behavior monitoring and account management critical defensive measures. Regular patch management and vulnerability assessment programs should be strengthened to ensure timely remediation of similar issues in the future, while also implementing proper network hygiene practices to reduce the risk of attackers gaining physical network access to target systems.