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Bi PublisherApplication · Oracle

CVE-2023-21970

MEDIUM · 5.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-18
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

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 Analytics (component: Security). The supported version that is affected is 6.4.0.0.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle BI Publisher. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle BI Publisher accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 5.7 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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

Oracle BI Publisher 6.4.0.0.0 contains a security vulnerability allowing low-privileged attackers with network access via HTTP to gain unauthorized access to critical data. The attack requires human interaction, suggesting a social engineering or click-based attack vector. The high confidentiality impact (C:H) indicates the vulnerability exposes sensitive data without affecting system integrity or availability.

MitigationApply the Oracle Critical Patch Update that addresses CVE-2023-21970, or upgrade to a patched version of Oracle BI Publisher. Until a patch is available, restrict network access to the BI Publisher interface and educate users about social engineering 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
Bi PublisherApplication
Affected:= 6.4.0.0.0

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/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 Oracle BI Publisher version
    Access the Oracle BI Publisher About page (typically at /xmlpserver/faces/about or check the administration console), or query the Oracle inventory using 'opatch lsinventory' for Oracle BI Publisher components
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 6.4.0.0.0
  2. Confirm HTTP(S) network exposure
    Verify that the BI Publisher web interface (XMLPServer) is accessible over HTTP or HTTPS from the network, or check firewall rules and reverse proxy configurations that expose the BI Publisher port
    Affected if The BI Publisher interface is reachable via HTTP(S) from untrusted network segments
  3. Verify low-privilege user access enabled
    Check if low-privileged or non-administrator accounts exist in the BI Publisher security configuration, and confirm these accounts can authenticate to the web interface
    Affected if Low-privileged user accounts are enabled and can log in to the BI Publisher web application
  4. Review access control configurations
    Inspect the BI Publisher security roles and permissions configuration to determine if data access controls restrict what low-privileged users can view
    Affected if Low-privileged users have the ability to access or view sensitive data through the application

You are affected if Oracle BI Publisher version 6.4.0.0.0 is installed and its web interface is network-accessible to low-privileged users, as the vulnerability allows these users to gain unauthorized 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

Apply the Oracle Critical Patch Update that addresses CVE-2023-21970, or upgrade to a patched version of Oracle BI Publisher. Until a patch is available, restrict network access to the BI Publisher interface and educate users about social engineering risks given the required human interaction.

Fix this in Bi Publisher Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
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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-2023-21970 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
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