CVE-2023-21923 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 creation, deletion or modification access to critical data or all Oracle Health Sciences InForm accessible data as well as unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle Health Sciences InForm accessible data and unauthorized ability to cause a partial denial of service (partial DOS) of Oracle Health Sciences InForm. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 8.3 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/11/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-21923 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle Health Sciences InForm, a component of Oracle Health Sciences Applications that serves as a clinical data management system for pharmaceutical and healthcare organizations. This vulnerability exists in the Core component of the application and affects versions prior to 6.3.1.3 and 7.0.0.1, indicating that organizations running these older versions face significant security risks. The flaw is classified as easily exploitable, meaning that attackers with minimal technical skills and network access can potentially leverage this weakness to compromise the system. The vulnerability's CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.3 reflects its high severity, with impacts spanning confidentiality, integrity, and availability, making it particularly dangerous for healthcare organizations that handle sensitive patient data and regulatory compliance requirements.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls and authentication mechanisms within the Oracle Health Sciences InForm application. Attackers with low privilege levels and network access via HTTP can exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized access to critical data and system functionalities. The vulnerability enables attackers to perform unauthorized creation, deletion, or modification operations on data, potentially compromising the integrity of clinical trial data and patient information. Additionally, the flaw allows for complete access to all accessible data within the system, representing a severe breach of confidentiality. The partial denial of service capability further compounds the impact, potentially disrupting clinical research operations and data management processes that organizations depend upon for regulatory compliance and business continuity.
Organizations utilizing Oracle Health Sciences InForm must understand the operational implications of this vulnerability, particularly in healthcare environments where data integrity and availability are paramount. The potential for unauthorized data modification poses significant risks to clinical trial outcomes, regulatory compliance, and patient safety. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple data theft to include potential manipulation of critical research data that could invalidate study results and compromise the credibility of pharmaceutical companies. Furthermore, the partial denial of service capability could disrupt ongoing clinical studies, potentially delaying drug development timelines and affecting patient access to investigational treatments. This vulnerability directly impacts the healthcare industry's adherence to regulatory standards such as FDA regulations and Good Clinical Practice guidelines, which require robust data integrity and security measures.
The remediation strategy for CVE-2023-21923 centers on upgrading to supported versions of Oracle Health Sciences InForm, specifically versions 6.3.1.3 or 7.0.0.1 and later. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems, conducting thorough vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of the vulnerable software. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit exposure, while monitoring systems should be implemented to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege, which is fundamental to cybersecurity frameworks. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and data manipulation, potentially enabling adversaries to establish persistent access and conduct advanced persistent threat operations within healthcare environments. Organizations should also implement comprehensive backup strategies and incident response procedures to mitigate potential damage from successful exploitation attempts.