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PeopletoolsApplication · Oracle

CVE-2003-0841

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2003-11-17
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The grid option in PeopleSoft 8.42 stores temporary .xls files in guessable directories under the web document root, which allows remote attackers to steal search results by directly accessing the files via a URL request.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

PeopleSoft 8.42's grid feature stores temporary Excel files containing search results in predictable, guessable directories within the web document root. Remote attackers can directly request these .xls files via HTTP to exfiltrate sensitive search data without authentication.

MitigationRelocate temporary file storage outside the web document root and implement proper access controls, or apply vendor patches if available for this legacy version.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
PeopletoolsApplication
Affected:= 8.42

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
None
Availability
None

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Peopletools version
    Locate the PeopleSoft installation and check the version. Common methods: (1) Check the psver.txt or version file in the Peopletools installation directory, (2) Query the PSVERSION table in the PeopleSoft database, (3) Check the About PeopleSoft page in the PeopleSoft application navigation
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 8.42 (or a custom build derived from 8.42)
  2. Determine if grid feature is enabled
    Check the PeopleSoft configuration for the grid component. This is typically found in the Application Designer or through the PeopleSoft web configuration files (psappsrv.cfg, psweb.cfg). Look for grid-related component settings or query the PSPCMPROG table for grid components
    Affected if The grid feature (PSGrid or similar grid component) is active in the PeopleSoft configuration
  3. Locate temporary file storage directory
    Examine the web server configuration for temporary file paths. Check web.xml, psweb.cfg, or the application server configuration for TempDir, PS_SERVDIR, or similar settings that define where the grid feature stores temporary files. Also check the web server document root structure for directories named temp, tmp, excel, or export
    Affected if Temporary files are configured to be stored within the web document root (htdocs, webdoc, or similar web-accessible paths)
  4. Search for .xls files in web-accessible paths
    Use file system commands to search for .xls or .xlsx files in directories under the web document root. Common locations to inspect: <webdocroot>/temp/, <webdocroot>/excel/, <webdocroot>/output/, <webdocroot>/files/. Use: find <webdocroot> -name "*.xls*" -type f
    Affected if Any .xls files exist in web-accessible directories, especially with naming patterns suggesting grid search results (such as grid*.xls, search*.xls, or timestamped filenames)
  5. Verify web server access to temp directories
    Test whether the temporary file directories are HTTP accessible by attempting to request a known file path via browser or curl: http://<server>/<webapp>/temp/<filename>.xls. Also check web server configuration for directory listings or file access permissions on temp directories
    Affected if The temporary storage directories are web-accessible and allow direct HTTP requests without authentication

A system is affected if it runs Peopletools 8.42 with the grid feature enabled and stores temporary Excel files in web-accessible directories under the document root, allowing unauthenticated HTTP access to sensitive data.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Relocate temporary file storage outside the web document root and implement proper access controls, or apply vendor patches if available for this legacy version.

Fix this in Peopletools Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2003-0841 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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