CVE-2023-21993 in Clinical Remote Data Capture
Summary
by MITRE • 04/18/2023
Vulnerability in the Oracle Clinical Remote Data Capture product of Oracle Health Sciences Applications (component: Forms). The supported version that is affected is 5.4.0.2. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Clinical Remote Data Capture. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle Clinical Remote Data Capture accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 6.5 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/11/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-21993 represents a significant security weakness within Oracle Clinical Remote Data Capture version 5.4.0.2, specifically within the Forms component of Oracle Health Sciences Applications. This flaw manifests as an easily exploitable vulnerability that targets the remote data capture system used extensively in clinical research environments where sensitive patient information and study data are processed. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers with minimal technical expertise can leverage this weakness to gain unauthorized access to critical healthcare data, making it particularly concerning for organizations handling regulated health information.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls within the Oracle Clinical Remote Data Capture system, allowing low privileged attackers with network access via HTTP protocols to compromise the application. This weakness falls under the category of insufficient authorization checks as defined by CWE-285, where the system fails to properly verify user permissions before granting access to sensitive resources. The CVSS 3.1 score of 6.5 indicates a medium severity vulnerability with high confidentiality impact, suggesting that successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to all accessible data within the system without requiring any user interaction or additional privileges beyond basic network connectivity.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses severe risks to organizations utilizing Oracle Clinical Remote Data Capture for clinical trial data management, as it could result in unauthorized access to critical patient data, study protocols, and research results. The impact extends beyond simple data exposure to potentially compromising the integrity and confidentiality of clinical research data, which is subject to strict regulatory compliance requirements under healthcare privacy laws. Attackers could potentially access sensitive medical information, manipulate study data, or disrupt clinical research operations, particularly affecting pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, and healthcare organizations that depend on secure data handling practices for their operations.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the relevant Oracle security patches, implementing network segmentation to limit access to the affected system, and enforcing stricter authentication mechanisms for HTTP access. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1190 which involves exploiting vulnerabilities in remote services, and organizations should consider implementing network monitoring to detect unauthorized access attempts. Additional protective measures include regular security assessments, access control reviews, and ensuring that only necessary personnel have access to the remote data capture systems. Given the confidentiality impact rating of high, organizations should also consider implementing data loss prevention solutions and conducting regular vulnerability assessments to identify and remediate similar weaknesses in their healthcare information systems infrastructure.