CVE-2026-73941 in Access Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 09/15/2026
Vulnerability in the Oracle Access Manager product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Authentication Engine). Supported versions that are affected are 12.2.1.4.0 and 14.1.2.1.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Access Manager. While the vulnerability is in Oracle Access Manager, 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 Oracle Access Manager accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 8.6 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/15/2026
The identified vulnerability resides within the Authentication Engine component of Oracle Access Manager, a critical identity and access management solution included in Oracle Fusion Middleware versions 12.2.1.4.0 and 14.1.2.1.0. This security flaw represents a significant risk to organizational infrastructure because it allows for unauthorized access without requiring prior authentication credentials. The vulnerability is characterized by its ease of exploitation, enabling an attacker who possesses network connectivity via the HTTP protocol to successfully compromise the integrity of the Oracle Access Manager system. Because Oracle Access Manager serves as a central point for authenticating users and managing session tokens across multiple enterprise applications, a breach in this component does not remain isolated. Instead, it triggers a scope change where attacks can significantly impact additional products that rely on the compromised authentication service for identity verification.
From a technical perspective, the flaw likely involves improper validation or handling of HTTP requests within the authentication engine logic, allowing an unauthenticated actor to bypass standard security controls. This aligns with common vulnerability classifications such as CWE-287, which denotes Improper Authentication, and potentially CWE-306 for Missing Authentication for Critical Function if specific administrative functions are exposed. The ability to exploit this flaw over a network connection via HTTP indicates that the attack vector is remote and requires no user interaction, classifying it under ATT&CK technique T1078, Valid Accounts, or more broadly as an initial access vector where the attacker establishes persistence by gaining unauthorized entry into the system. The lack of required privileges for the attacker further emphasizes the severity, as even external adversaries with basic networking capabilities can initiate the attack sequence without needing to compromise a user account first.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to the high confidentiality impacts reflected in its CVSS 3.1 Base Score of 8.6. Successful exploitation grants an unauthorized attacker access to critical data stored within or managed by Oracle Access Manager. This includes sensitive identity information, session tokens, and potentially credentials for downstream applications that trust the authentication assertions issued by this service. In a worst-case scenario, the attacker could achieve complete access to all data accessible through Oracle Access Manager, effectively neutralizing the organization's primary defense against unauthorized entry. The scope change mentioned in the vulnerability description highlights that while the technical flaw is localized to the middleware component, the business impact extends across the entire ecosystem of integrated applications, leading to potential widespread data exfiltration and loss of trust in identity management processes.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate remediation given the high severity and ease of exploitation. Organizations running affected versions should apply the latest security patches provided by Oracle as soon as they are available for their specific release track. In environments where patching is not immediately feasible, network-level controls such as Web Application Firewalls can be configured to inspect HTTP traffic for patterns associated with this vulnerability's exploit code and block malicious requests before they reach the authentication engine. Additionally, restricting direct access to Oracle Access Manager management interfaces to trusted IP ranges via firewall rules or VPNs reduces the attack surface available to unauthenticated attackers. Continuous monitoring of authentication logs for anomalous login attempts from unknown sources is also recommended to detect potential exploitation activities in real time and respond swiftly to any security incidents arising from this vulnerability.