CVE-2021-2117
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 · uneditedVulnerability in the Oracle Application Express Survey Builder component of Oracle Database Server. The supported version that is affected is Prior to 20.2. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker having Valid User Account privilege with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Application Express Survey Builder. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Oracle Application Express Survey Builder, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle Application Express Survey Builder accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of Oracle Application Express Survey Builder accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 5.4 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 · high confidenceVulnerability in Oracle Application Express Survey Builder allowing low-privileged authenticated users unauthorized read and write access to Survey Builder data. Exploitation requires human interaction and while primarily affecting APEX, attacks may impact additional products due to scope change.
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< 20.2CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Oracle Application Express is installedQuery the apex_version view or check for APEX installation directory. Run: SELECT apex_version.version FROM apex_version WHERE apex_version.component = 'APEX';Affected if APEX is installed and accessible
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Determine installed APEX versionCompare the version returned from the previous query against the affected range. Versions below 20.2 are vulnerable.Affected if Version is less than 20.2
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Check if Survey Builder is enabledQuery the apex_applicationSurvey Builder views or check if any surveys exist. Run: SELECT COUNT(*) FROM apex_application_surveys; or check workspace definitions for Survey Builder.Affected if Survey Builder contains any surveys or is configured
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Identify low-privileged users with Survey Builder accessReview user privileges on Survey Builder objects. Query: SELECT owner, table_name FROM all_tables WHERE table_name LIKE '%SURVEY%'; Then check grants on these objects for low-privileged roles.Affected if Low-privileged (non-admin) users have read or write access to survey data
User is affected if Oracle Application Express version is below 20.2 AND Survey Builder is in use with accessible data for low-privileged authenticated users.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 data20.2
Upgrade Oracle Application Express to version 20.2 or later to remediate this vulnerability.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-2117 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-2117 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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