Database ServerDatabase / datastore · Oracle

CVE-2016-0472

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2016-01-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
61/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
Unspecified vulnerability in the XDB - XML Database component in Oracle Database Server 11.2.0.4, 12.1.0.1, and 12.1.0.2 allows remote authenticated users to affect confidentiality and availability via unknown vectors.

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 · moderate confidence

Unspecified vulnerability in Oracle XDB (XML Database) component affecting versions 11.2.0.4, 12.1.0.1, and 12.1.0.2. Exploitable by remote authenticated users, impacting confidentiality and availability through unknown vectors in the XDB subsystem.

MitigationApply Oracle Critical Patch Update (CPU) for January 2016 or later. If XDB is not required, consider disabling the XDB HTTP and FTP listeners, and restrict network access to the database to limit exposure to authenticated attackers.

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
Database ServerDatabase / datastore
Affected:= 11.2.0.4= 12.1.0.1= 12.1.0.2

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
Single
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

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

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. Determine Oracle Database version
    Connect to the database as SYSDBA and run: SELECT VERSION FROM V$INSTANCE; or use lsnrctl status to check the database version from the listener
    Affected if The version displayed is exactly 11.2.0.4, 12.1.0.1, or 12.1.0.2
  2. Confirm XDB component is installed
    Query the Oracle dictionary: SELECT COMP_NAME, VERSION, STATUS FROM DBA_REGISTRY WHERE COMP_NAME LIKE 'Oracle XML Database%';
    Affected if XDB is present in the registry with status VALID, indicating the component is installed and operational
  3. Verify XDB HTTP listener is enabled
    Check listener.ora for XDB HTTP service on port 8080, or run lsnrctl status and look for service 'XDB' on port 8080 or similar
    Affected if The XDB HTTP listener is configured and the service is in LISTENER.ORA or showing as LISTENING status
  4. Verify XDB FTP listener is enabled
    Check listener.ora for XDB FTP service on port 2100, or examine network configuration for FTP listener
    Affected if The XDB FTP listener is configured and listening on port 2100

You are affected if your Oracle Database version is exactly 11.2.0.4, 12.1.0.1, or 12.1.0.2 AND the XDB component is installed with either the HTTP or FTP listener enabled, allowing remote authenticated access to XDB.

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

Apply Oracle Critical Patch Update (CPU) for January 2016 or later. If XDB is not required, consider disabling the XDB HTTP and FTP listeners, and restrict network access to the database to limit exposure to authenticated attackers.

Fix this in Database Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-0472 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2016-0472 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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data