CVE-2023-21921 in Health Sciences InForm
Summary
by MITRE • 04/18/2023
Vulnerability in the Oracle Health Sciences InForm product of Oracle Health Sciences Applications (component: Core). Supported versions that are affected are Prior to 6.3.1.3 and Prior to 7.0.0.1. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Health Sciences InForm. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle Health Sciences InForm accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of Oracle Health Sciences InForm accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 5.4 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/12/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-21921 affects Oracle Health Sciences InForm, a critical component within Oracle Health Sciences Applications designed for clinical data management and electronic data capture. This particular flaw resides in the Core component of the software and impacts versions prior to 6.3.1.3 and 7.0.0.1, representing a significant security gap in healthcare data processing systems. The vulnerability classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers can leverage relatively simple techniques to gain unauthorized access, making it particularly concerning for organizations handling sensitive patient information and clinical trial data.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate access controls within the HTTP interface of the Oracle Health Sciences InForm application. Attackers with low privileges and network access can exploit this weakness to perform unauthorized operations including data modification and read access to restricted information. The CVSS 3.1 score of 5.4 reflects the moderate severity of the issue, with confidentiality and integrity impacts rated as low, though the potential for unauthorized data manipulation remains significant. The attack vector requires network access via HTTP, meaning the vulnerability can be exploited remotely without requiring physical access to the system, which expands the potential threat surface considerably.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it creates opportunities for data integrity compromise through unauthorized update, insert, or delete operations. Healthcare organizations using this software face risks of data corruption, manipulation of clinical trial results, and potential disruption of research processes that depend on accurate data integrity. The unauthorized read access to subsets of data could expose sensitive patient information, research findings, or proprietary clinical data that organizations are required to protect under healthcare regulations and data protection laws. This vulnerability particularly affects the confidentiality and integrity aspects of the CIA triad, though it does not currently impact availability, as indicated by the CVSS vector.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems to address this vulnerability, as the low privilege requirement and network-based exploitation make it particularly attractive to threat actors. The remediation process should include verifying that all systems running Oracle Health Sciences InForm versions prior to 6.3.1.3 or 7.0.0.1 have been updated to the latest supported releases. Security teams should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure, while monitoring for suspicious network activity related to the HTTP interface. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 Access Control Issues, specifically addressing inadequate access controls and privilege escalation opportunities that could lead to unauthorized data operations. The ATT&CK framework would classify this under Initial Access through Web Protocols and Persistence through unauthorized data manipulation, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security monitoring and incident response capabilities to detect and respond to potential exploitation attempts.