CVE-2021-35964 in HCM
Summary
by MITRE • 07/19/2021
The management page of the Orca HCM digital learning platform does not perform identity verification, which allows remote attackers to execute the management function without logging in, access members’ information, modify and delete the courses in system, thus causing users fail to access the learning content.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/22/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-35964 resides within the Orca HCM digital learning platform's management interface, representing a critical authorization flaw that fundamentally undermines the system's security posture. This issue manifests as a missing authentication check mechanism that should have been implemented to verify user identities before granting access to administrative functions. The absence of proper identity verification creates an open door for unauthorized actors to bypass legitimate access controls and assume administrative privileges remotely. The vulnerability specifically affects the management page component of the platform, which serves as the primary interface for system administrators to perform critical operations including course creation, modification, and deletion, as well as member data access and management.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability follows a straightforward yet dangerous attack vector where remote attackers can directly access management functions without any form of authentication or authorization validation. This represents a classic case of insufficient authorization checks, which maps directly to CWE-285, an issue that encompasses improper authorization within software systems. The flaw allows attackers to execute administrative commands such as modifying course content, deleting learning materials, and accessing member information, all without presenting valid credentials or demonstrating proper access rights. The lack of session management and authentication verification mechanisms means that any attacker with knowledge of the management page URL can immediately begin performing privileged operations, effectively eliminating any meaningful access control enforcement within the system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple unauthorized access, creating significant risks to both data integrity and service availability within the learning platform. When attackers can modify or delete courses, they fundamentally disrupt the learning experience for all users who depend on the platform for their educational content. This vulnerability directly affects the platform's ability to maintain consistent and reliable learning environments, potentially causing data loss, content corruption, or complete service disruption. The exposure of member information through this flaw also creates serious privacy concerns and regulatory compliance issues, particularly in environments where educational data protection regulations such as GDPR or FERPA apply. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers can leverage this weakness from any location without requiring physical access or additional attack vectors, making it particularly dangerous in cloud-based learning environments where exposure to external networks is common.
Organizations utilizing the Orca HCM platform must implement immediate remediation measures to address this vulnerability, including implementing robust authentication mechanisms for all management interfaces and ensuring proper authorization checks are enforced. The mitigation strategy should include mandatory authentication for all administrative functions, implementation of role-based access controls, and regular security assessments to identify similar authorization flaws. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques such as T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting, as attackers can leverage the lack of authentication to assume administrative roles within the system. Security teams should also consider implementing network segmentation, monitoring for unauthorized access attempts, and establishing proper incident response procedures to detect and respond to exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of implementing defense-in-depth strategies where multiple security controls work together to prevent unauthorized access, including proper access control implementation, network monitoring, and regular security auditing practices to identify and remediate similar authorization flaws before they can be exploited by malicious actors.