CVE-2023-21853 in Mobile Field Service
Summary
by MITRE • 01/18/2023
Vulnerability in the Oracle Mobile Field Service product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Synchronization). Supported versions that are affected are 12.2.3-12.2.12. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Mobile Field Service. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized creation, deletion or modification access to critical data or all Oracle Mobile Field Service accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 7.5 (Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/17/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-21853 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle Mobile Field Service, an integral component of Oracle E-Business Suite that facilitates mobile workforce management and field service operations. This vulnerability specifically resides within the synchronization component of the mobile field service application, which serves as the primary mechanism for data synchronization between field service representatives and the central enterprise system. The affected versions span from 12.2.3 through 12.2.12, indicating a substantial attack surface across multiple releases of the Oracle E-Business Suite ecosystem. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable underscores its accessibility to attackers without requiring specialized skills or privileged access, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where mobile field service applications handle sensitive operational data.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient authentication mechanisms within the synchronization interface, allowing unauthenticated attackers to establish network connections via HTTP protocols and execute malicious operations against the affected Oracle Mobile Field Service instances. This flaw creates a direct pathway for attackers to compromise the integrity of the system by enabling unauthorized modification, deletion, or creation of critical data within the mobile field service environment. The CVSS 3.1 scoring system assigns this vulnerability a base score of 7.5, reflecting high integrity impact with no impact on confidentiality or availability, while the vector notation CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N clearly indicates network-based attack accessibility with low attack complexity and no user interaction required. The vulnerability's design flaw directly maps to CWE-287, which addresses improper authentication issues, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1190 for exploit public-facing application, emphasizing the attack surface exposure through HTTP protocols.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data integrity concerns, as it fundamentally undermines the security posture of organizations relying on Oracle Mobile Field Service for critical business operations. Field service representatives typically access sensitive customer information, service records, inventory data, and operational metrics through this platform, making unauthorized modifications particularly damaging to business continuity and regulatory compliance. Organizations using affected versions may face unauthorized changes to service schedules, customer records, inventory levels, and technician assignments that could result in operational disruptions, financial losses, and potential regulatory violations. The lack of authentication requirements means that attackers can systematically manipulate field service data without detection, potentially leading to service degradation, customer dissatisfaction, and compromised operational efficiency. This vulnerability particularly affects industries such as manufacturing, utilities, telecommunications, and professional services where mobile field service operations are critical to business operations.
Organizations must implement immediate mitigations to address this vulnerability, beginning with applying the official Oracle security patches released for CVE-2023-21853, which are specifically designed to strengthen authentication mechanisms within the synchronization component. Network-level protections should include implementing firewall rules to restrict access to the mobile field service synchronization endpoints, particularly blocking direct internet access to HTTP ports and requiring secure HTTPS connections with proper authentication. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing network segmentation strategies to isolate mobile field service components from general network access and establish robust monitoring protocols to detect unauthorized access attempts. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of affected Oracle Mobile Field Service versions and ensure proper access controls are implemented through Oracle's security configuration guidelines. The mitigation strategy must also include establishing incident response procedures specifically for mobile field service data integrity breaches, as well as implementing regular security audits to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in other components of the Oracle E-Business Suite ecosystem.