CVE-2026-101574 in Helidon
Summary
by MITRE • 10/21/2026
Vulnerability in the Helidon product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: OIDC). Supported versions that are affected are 4.0.0-4.5.5 and 27.0.0. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Helidon. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Helidon, attacks may significantly impact additional products (scope change). Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Helidon accessible data as well as unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Helidon accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 6.9 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/21/2026
The identified vulnerability resides within the OpenID Connect implementation of Oracle Fusion Middleware, specifically affecting Helidon versions ranging from 4.0.0 through 4.5.5 and version 27.0.0. This security flaw is classified as a difficult-to-exploit issue that permits unauthenticated attackers to compromise the integrity and confidentiality of data processed by the OIDC component. The attack vector is network-based, utilizing HTTP protocols, which allows remote exploitation without prior authentication credentials. However, the complexity of the exploit introduces significant barriers for potential adversaries, requiring specific conditions to be met before a successful breach can occur.
A critical characteristic of this vulnerability is its reliance on human interaction from a party other than the attacker. This requirement aligns with social engineering tactics where an end-user or administrator must perform an action that triggers the malicious code path within the Helidon OIDC module. Despite this dependency, the scope of impact extends beyond the immediate application layer. Because Oracle Fusion Middleware integrates multiple enterprise services, compromising the Helidon component can lead to a change in security scope. This means that while the flaw is technically located in Helidon, the consequences ripple outward, potentially exposing sensitive information or allowing unauthorized modifications across interconnected products within the broader middleware ecosystem.
The operational impact of successful exploitation is severe, primarily targeting data confidentiality and integrity rather than system availability. An attacker who successfully leverages this vulnerability gains unauthorized access to critical business data stored or processed by Helidon. Furthermore, the compromise extends to full read access for all data accessible through the OIDC interface. Beyond mere observation, the attacker also obtains write privileges, enabling them to update, insert, or delete records within the affected databases. This level of control allows an adversary to alter transactional integrity, inject malicious entries, or remove essential audit trails, thereby undermining trust in the system's outputs and potentially facilitating further lateral movement within the network infrastructure.
From a classification perspective, this vulnerability maps closely to CWE-20 Improper Input Validation when considering how user-supplied data is processed by the OIDC handler without adequate sanitization checks that would prevent malicious payloads from executing or accessing restricted resources. The requirement for human interaction places it under ATT&CK technique T1566 Phishing, as attackers often rely on deceptive links or requests to trigger such state-dependent flaws. Additionally, the unauthorized access and modification capabilities correspond to CWE-284 Improper Access Control and CWE-798 Use of Hard-coded Credentials if authentication bypass mechanisms are involved in the exploitation chain. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.9 reflects a medium severity rating driven by high confidentiality impact and low integrity impact, balanced against the high attack complexity and requirement for user interaction.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching to the latest supported version of Oracle Fusion Middleware that resolves this specific Helidon OIDC flaw. Organizations must ensure that all instances running versions 4.0.0 through 4.5.5 or 27.0.0 are updated promptly. In environments where patching is not immediately feasible, network segmentation should be enforced to restrict HTTP access to the affected services from untrusted networks. Implementing strict input validation at the perimeter firewall level can also help filter out malformed requests that might trigger this vulnerability. Security awareness training for users is equally important given the social engineering aspect of the exploit; employees must be educated on recognizing suspicious links or actions that could inadvertently initiate OIDC flows leading to exploitation. Regular auditing of access logs and data integrity checks should be conducted to detect any signs of unauthorized modifications resulting from successful attacks.