CVE-2026-70804 in Public Sector Human Resources
Summary
by MITRE • 08/19/2026
Vulnerability in the Oracle Public Sector Human Resources product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Regression Testing). Supported versions that are affected are 12.2.3-12.2.15. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Public Sector Human Resources. While the vulnerability is in Oracle Public Sector Human Resources, attacks may significantly impact additional products (scope change). Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized creation, deletion or modification access to critical data or all Oracle Public Sector Human Resources accessible data as well as unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle Public Sector Human Resources accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 7.7 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/20/2026
The identified vulnerability resides within the Regression Testing component of Oracle Public Sector Human Resources, a module integrated into the broader Oracle E-Business Suite ecosystem. This security flaw affects supported software versions ranging from 12.2.3 through 12.2.15. The nature of this defect is characterized by its complexity and specific exploitation prerequisites, which significantly influence the risk profile for organizations relying on these systems. While the vulnerability is technically located within the Public Sector Human Resources module, it possesses a scope change characteristic that allows successful exploitation to impact additional products beyond the immediate component. This lateral movement capability amplifies the potential blast radius of an attack, potentially compromising data and functionality across multiple interconnected enterprise applications rather than being isolated to a single functional area.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability is classified as difficult to exploit due to its high complexity requirement. Successful exploitation necessitates that the attacker be authenticated with high privileges within the Oracle E-Business Suite environment before any malicious activity can commence. Furthermore, the attack vector requires network access via HTTP, indicating that while remote interaction is possible, it must occur over a protocol that may involve additional authentication layers or internal network positioning depending on the organization's architecture. The lack of user interface involvement means that social engineering tactics targeting end-users are not required for exploitation; instead, the burden lies entirely on the attacker to bypass high-level access controls and navigate complex technical conditions to trigger the flaw. This profile aligns with CWE-269, which addresses Improper Privilege Management, as the core issue involves an elevation or misuse of existing administrative privileges to perform unauthorized actions that should be restricted by design.
The operational impact of a successful exploit is severe, primarily affecting data confidentiality and integrity while leaving availability largely intact according to the provided metrics. An attacker who successfully leverages this vulnerability gains the ability to create, delete, or modify critical data within Oracle Public Sector Human Resources. This includes sensitive personal information, payroll records, employment histories, and other proprietary HR data that is central to public sector operations. Beyond direct manipulation of existing records, the attacker can also achieve unauthorized access to critical data, potentially leading to complete exposure of all accessible human resources information. In an era where privacy regulations such as GDPR or local public sector compliance standards are strictly enforced, such a breach represents a significant regulatory and reputational risk. The integrity impact is equally concerning, as tampered HR records could lead to incorrect payroll processing, unauthorized benefit changes, or compromised audit trails that obscure malicious activities from detection by internal security teams.
The CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.7 reflects the high severity associated with these confidentiality and integrity impacts, despite the high complexity and privilege requirements for exploitation. The vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N) explicitly details that while the attack is network-based, it demands high access complexity and high privileges, yet results in high confidentiality and integrity impacts with a scope change. This scoring model underscores that even though the barrier to entry for attackers is elevated by the need for admin-level credentials, the consequences of success are catastrophic enough to warrant urgent remediation attention. Organizations must recognize that internal threats or compromised administrative accounts can easily trigger this vulnerability, making insider threat mitigation and strict access control reviews critical components of their defense strategy against this specific flaw.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching by applying the latest security updates provided by Oracle for versions 12.2.3 through 12.2.15. Until patches are applied or deployed in a test environment, organizations must enforce rigorous access control policies to ensure that only essential personnel have high-level administrative privileges within the E-Business Suite. Implementing network segmentation can also help limit HTTP-based attack vectors by restricting direct external access to these systems and ensuring they reside behind robust firewalls with strict ingress filtering. Additionally, continuous monitoring for anomalous activities involving data creation, deletion, or modification in HR modules should be established using SIEM tools configured to detect patterns consistent with the described impact profile. Aligning defenses with ATT&CK techniques related to Data Staged or Data Exfiltration over alternative protocols can help identify attempts to abuse these privileges. Regular audits of user permissions and privilege usage will further reduce the likelihood that an attacker can achieve the high-privilege state necessary to exploit this vulnerability, thereby closing the gap between potential threat actors and critical organizational data assets.