CVE-2022-21353 - Critical Vulnerability in Oracle WebLogic Server Allows Unauthorized Access and Partial Denial of Service

The cybersecurity community has recently discovered a critical vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-21353 in Oracle WebLogic Server, a widely used application server from Oracle Fusion Middleware. This vulnerability affects the Core component of the application server and threatens the supported versions 12.2.1.3., 12.2.1.4., and 14.1.1...

This easily exploitable vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker with network access via T3 protocol to compromise Oracle WebLogic Server. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized update, insert, or delete access to some data accessible through Oracle WebLogic Server and could also cause a partial denial of service (partial DOS) on the targeted server.

The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 Base Score of 6.5, which indicates impacts on Integrity and Availability. The CVSS Vector is as follows: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L). This score highlights the relative ease of exploiting the vulnerability and the risks associated with it.

Given below is an example of a vulnerable code segment

public void vulnerableMethod(T3Message msg) {
  // ... previous code ...
  try {
    data = msg.getPayload();
    // ... other processing ...
  } catch (Exception e) {
    handleError(e); // Exception handling and logging
  }
  // ... additional operations on data ...
}

In this example, the msg object is reachable by an attacker via T3 network protocol, and its payload (data) is directly used for further processing without proper validation and sanitization. This could allow a malicious user to perform unauthorized modifications and lead to partial DOS attacks.

Exploit Details

The exact details of the exploit are not disclosed to avoid misuse by threat actors, but the general understanding is that an attacker could craft a malicious T3 message targeting a vulnerable Oracle WebLogic Server. By taking advantage of the flaw in the Core component, the attacker could potentially gain unauthorized access to the server's data and cause service disruptions.

Mitigation and Remediation

Oracle has already addressed this issue in its Critical Patch Update - January 2022, which contains patches for multiple vulnerabilities in different products. It is strongly recommended that users of affected Oracle WebLogic Server versions apply the security patches as soon as possible. Additional security measures, such as input validation, least-privilege access control, and network segmentation, should also be employed to minimize the risks associated with this vulnerability.

Original References

- CVE-2022-21353 - Oracle WebLogic Server Vulnerability
- NVD - CVE-2022-21353

In conclusion, CVE-2022-21353 is a critical vulnerability in Oracle WebLogic Server that could result in unauthorized data access and service disruptions. Users of the affected versions should immediately apply the security patches provided by Oracle and adopt additional security measures to protect their servers and data.

Timeline

Published on: 01/19/2022 12:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 01/24/2022 19:21:00 UTC