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CVE-2025-21557: Medium Vulnerability in Oracle Application Express

CVE-2025-21557 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting Oracle Application Express versions 23.2 and 24.1. It allows low privileged attackers to compromise data through HTTP. Organizations should prioritize patching to mitigate this risk.

MEDIUMCVSS 5.4 · Published January 21, 2025

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CVE-2025-21557 is a vulnerability in Oracle Application Express affecting versions 23.2 and 24.1. This medium-severity vulnerability allows low privileged attackers with network access via HTTP to potentially compromise Oracle Application Express. Successful exploitation requires human interaction from a user other than the attacker. While the vulnerability resides within Oracle Application Express, successful attacks can also significantly impact additional products, indicating a scope change. The potential consequences of exploiting this vulnerability include unauthorized updates, inserts, or deletions of accessible data, as well as unauthorized read access to some data.

The CVSS 3.1 Base Score for this vulnerability is 5.4, which indicates medium severity. The CVSS vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N, reflecting low attack complexity and the requirement for user interaction. Organizations using the affected versions should be aware of this risk and take immediate action to mitigate it.

Given the medium severity of CVE-2025-21557, organizations should prioritize patching to protect against potential exploitation. The urgency for remediation is underscored by the fact that successful attacks can lead to significant data breaches.

Organizations should regularly monitor their systems for vulnerabilities like CVE-2025-21557 and validate remediation efforts through comprehensive security assessments.

Vulnerability Details

The official CVE description states that this vulnerability exists within Oracle Application Express, specifically in the general component. The affected versions are 23.2 and 24.1. The vulnerability allows low privileged attackers to exploit the application via HTTP with minimal interaction required from users.

The CVSS score of 5.4 indicates a medium severity, emphasizing the importance of timely updates and patches. The CWE classification associated with this vulnerability is CWE-863.

Technical Analysis

The root cause of CVE-2025-21557 lies in insufficient access controls within Oracle Application Express. Attackers may leverage this vulnerability through network access, requiring low privileges and user interaction, which poses a low attack complexity. The potential impacts include low confidentiality and integrity impacts, while availability remains unaffected.

Risk & Impact Analysis

Risk to organizations includes unauthorized access to sensitive data, which can lead to data breaches and reputational damage. The potential blast radius of this vulnerability is considerable, particularly in environments where Oracle Application Express is widely deployed. Given its medium severity, organizations should address this vulnerability in their priority patch cycle.

Exploitation Status

Signal

Status

Known Exploit

No

Public PoC

No

Actively Exploited

No

Ransomware Use

No

Affected Versions

The affected versions of Oracle Application Express are 23.2 and 24.1. If version information is missing, it is advisable to state that all versions prior to the vendor patch are affected.

Mitigation & Remediation

Organizations should prioritize patching Oracle Application Express to the latest versions as a mitigation strategy. If patches are not readily available, consider implementing workarounds such as restricting network access to the affected components or applying configuration hardening measures. Continuous monitoring and network controls are recommended to detect any unauthorized access attempts.

Detection Guidance

To detect potential exploitation of CVE-2025-21557, organizations should monitor logs for indicators of unauthorized access, track behavioral anomalies, and establish network signatures that could indicate attempts to exploit this vulnerability. Additionally, any significant changes to the system that align with this vulnerability should be closely examined.

AppSecure Threat Intelligence Insight

The long-term significance of CVE-2025-21557 highlights the critical need for organizations to maintain robust security practices, especially when using widely deployed components like Oracle Application Express. This vulnerability exemplifies the patterns of risk associated with low privileged access, emphasizing the importance of user awareness training and interaction controls.

Security teams should learn from this incident to strengthen their defenses against similar vulnerabilities by implementing thorough testing and monitoring mechanisms. Organizations can benefit from adopting a comprehensive penetration testing program to identify and remediate potential weaknesses proactively.

Additionally, organizations should consider reviewing their incident response protocols to ensure they can effectively manage and mitigate the impact of similar vulnerabilities in the future.

Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.

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