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Bi PublisherApplication · Oracle

CVE-2021-2396

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-07-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Vulnerability in the Oracle BI Publisher product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: E-Business Suite - XDO). Supported versions that are affected are 5.5.0.0.0, 11.1.1.9.0, 12.2.1.3.0 and 12.2.1.4.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle BI Publisher. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of Oracle BI Publisher. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 8.8 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

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

Vulnerability in Oracle BI Publisher's E-Business Suite XDO component allows low-privileged authenticated attackers to achieve remote code execution via HTTP, leading to complete system takeover. The easily exploitable nature and full CIA impact indicate likely command injection or file handling flaw in the XML Publisher processing.

MitigationApply Oracle Critical Patch Update for Oracle BI Publisher addressing CVE-2021-2396; if patches unavailable, restrict network access to BI Publisher interfaces and consider disabling XDO functionality until patch deployment.

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
Bi PublisherApplication
Affected:= 5.5.0.0.0= 11.1.1.9.0= 12.2.1.3.0= 12.2.1.4.0

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 Oracle BI Publisher installation
    Locate the Oracle BI Publisher installation directory and check for version file, or query the Oracle BI Publisher diagnostic/about page typically accessible at /xmlpserver/About or through Oracle Enterprise Manager. Common paths include $ORACLE_HOME/bi/bin or the xmlpserver web application directory.
    Affected if The installed version matches 5.5.0.0.0, 11.1.1.9.0, 12.2.1.3.0, or 12.2.1.4.0 exactly.
  2. Verify XDO component is configured
    Check if the E-Business Suite XDO integration module is enabled in Oracle BI Publisher. This can be done by examining the BI Publisher configuration files such as xdoconfig.xml or the XMLPServer config, or by checking the available BI Publisher scheduler jobs and data sources for XDO-related entries.
    Affected if XDO/E-Business Suite integration is present and configured in the BI Publisher instance.
  3. Confirm HTTP interface exposure
    Verify that the Oracle BI Publisher HTTP listener (xmlpserver) is accessible on the network. Check network listeners, web server configurations, or firewall rules that expose ports 9704, 8080, or the configured BI Publisher HTTP port to network requesters.
    Affected if The BI Publisher HTTP interface is accessible from the network where attackers could send malicious requests.
  4. Check authentication configuration
    Review the BI Publisher security configuration to determine whether low-privileged user accounts can be created or if guest/anonymous access is enabled. The vulnerability requires authenticated access, so check user provisioning settings and authentication mechanisms.
    Affected if Low-privileged users can be created or guest access is enabled, allowing authenticated attackers to exploit the flaw.

If Oracle BI Publisher version is exactly 5.5.0.0.0, 11.1.1.9.0, 12.2.1.3.0, or 12.2.1.4.0 AND the XDO component is configured AND the HTTP interface is exposed AND low-privileged authentication is possible, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2021-2396.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Oracle Critical Patch Update for Oracle BI Publisher addressing CVE-2021-2396; if patches unavailable, restrict network access to BI Publisher interfaces and consider disabling XDO functionality until patch deployment.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Oracle BI Publisher 12.2.1.4.0 should be upgraded to the latest available patch set per Oracle's July 2021 Critical Patch Update

  1. Check Oracle Critical Patch Updates for CVE-2021-2396 availability at oracle.com/security-alerts
  2. Apply the corresponding Oracle BI Publisher security patch for your specific version line
  3. After patching, verify the XDO component is no longer exposed to unauthenticated or low-privileged network access
  4. Restrict network access to Oracle BI Publisher administration interfaces to trusted networks only
Caveat Review Oracle patch documentation for any post-installation configuration requirements or known issues specific to your deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Bi Publisher 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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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-2021-2396 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