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Peoplesoft Enterprise PeopletoolsApplication · Oracle

CVE-2021-2043

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-01-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Portal). Supported versions that are affected are 8.56, 8.57 and 8.58. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 6.1 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).

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

Unauthenticated vulnerability in PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools Portal component allows remote attackers via HTTP to access unauthorized data. The CVSS vector indicates low complexity attacks requiring human interaction (likely social engineering), with scope changing to affect additional products. Attackers gain limited read and write access to some accessible data without authentication.

MitigationApply the relevant Oracle Critical Patch Update for PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools 8.56, 8.57, and 8.58. As a compensating control, restrict network access to the Portal to trusted users and educate users about phishing risks given the required human interaction.

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
Peoplesoft Enterprise PeopletoolsApplication
Affected:= 8.56= 8.57= 8.58

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 PeopleSoft PeopleTools installation
    Locate PeopleSoft Enterprise installation directories or running processes. Check for PS_HOME environment variable, or look for psappsrv.exe, pshadoop, or related PeopleSoft processes on the system.
    Affected if PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools software is found on the system
  2. Determine installed PeopleTools version
    Use PeopleSoft Administration tools, check version information in the PS_HOME directory, or query the PeopleSoft database for tools version tables (e.g., PSSTATUS or similar version tables accessible via SQL).
    Affected if The installed version is 8.56, 8.57, or 8.58 exactly (the affected versions)
  3. Verify Portal component is enabled
    Check PeopleSoft configuration for the Portal component (PORTAL) in the application server or web server configuration. Review psappsrv.cfg or web profile settings for active Portal modules.
    Affected if The Portal (PORTAL) component is enabled and accessible in the PeopleTools environment
  4. Assess network exposure of Portal interface
    Review network ACLs, firewall rules, or load balancer configurations that expose the PeopleSoft Portal URL (/psc/ or /psp/) to network segments. Determine if untrusted users can reach the HTTP/HTTPS Portal endpoints.
    Affected if The Portal HTTP endpoints are accessible from untrusted or public networks without proper filtering
  5. Confirm unauthenticated access is possible
    Test accessing Portal URLs without providing credentials. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated access, so attempt to reach Portal content pages without login.
    Affected if Portal content or data is accessible without authentication via HTTP requests

You are affected if PeopleTools versions 8.56, 8.57, or 8.58 are running AND the Portal component is enabled AND it is exposed to untrusted networks, as the flaw allows unauthenticated HTTP access to unauthorized 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

Apply the relevant Oracle Critical Patch Update for PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools 8.56, 8.57, and 8.58. As a compensating control, restrict network access to the Portal to trusted users and educate users about phishing risks given the required human interaction.

Fix this in Peoplesoft Enterprise Peopletools Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
26.0 hours of engineering $4,460
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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-2021-2043 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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