CVE-2023-22014 in PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools
Summary
by MITRE • 07/19/2023
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Portal). Supported versions that are affected are 8.59 and 8.60. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with logon to the infrastructure where PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools executes to compromise PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 8.4 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/14/2023
The CVE-2023-22014 vulnerability represents a critical security flaw within Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools, specifically affecting the Portal component. This vulnerability exists in versions 8.59 and 8.60, making it particularly concerning given the widespread deployment of these software versions across enterprise environments. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers can leverage it with minimal technical expertise, potentially compromising entire enterprise systems that rely on PeopleSoft for business operations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls within the PeopleTools Portal component, allowing unauthenticated attackers who have gained logon access to the underlying infrastructure to escalate their privileges and compromise the entire PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools environment. This represents a significant privilege escalation vulnerability where an attacker who can simply log into the system infrastructure can potentially gain complete control over the PeopleSoft application. The CVSS score of 8.4 reflects the high severity of this flaw, with impacts spanning confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The attack vector is classified as local access (AV:L) meaning the attacker must already have access to the system infrastructure, while the low access complexity (AC:L) and no user interaction requirements (UI:N) make exploitation straightforward once initial access is achieved.
The operational impact of successfully exploiting CVE-2023-22014 can be devastating for organizations relying on PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools. A successful compromise could result in complete takeover of the PeopleSoft environment, potentially exposing sensitive enterprise data, disrupting business operations, and allowing attackers to manipulate critical business processes. The confidentiality impact is high as attackers could access sensitive employee records, financial data, and business-critical information stored within the PeopleSoft system. The integrity impact is equally severe as attackers could modify or corrupt data, potentially leading to financial losses and operational disruptions. The availability impact means that attackers could potentially render the entire PeopleSoft environment inaccessible to legitimate users, causing significant business disruption.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation of this vulnerability by applying the relevant Oracle patches and updates. The mitigation strategy should include implementing network segmentation to limit access to PeopleSoft infrastructure, conducting thorough access control reviews, and monitoring for suspicious activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. Given that this vulnerability affects versions 8.59 and 8.60, organizations should also consider upgrading to supported versions that have addressed this flaw. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and represents a significant risk under the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation techniques, specifically targeting the 'Exploitation for Privilege Escalation' and 'Taint Data' tactics that could lead to full system compromise and data exfiltration.