Oracle E-Business Suite Mobile and Web Services Security - What You Need To Know

Securing packaged software such as the Oracle E-Business Suite presents different challenges than securing bespoke custom software. Unlike custom software, both the structure of and the security vulnerabilities of the Oracle E-Business Suite are well known and documented, not only to users but also to threat actors.  To begin an attack, limited probing and/or reconnaissance is needed because threat actors know exactly what to target and what to expect.  This also makes the Oracle E-Business Suite, like other ERP platforms, vulnerable to automated attacks.

Oracle Database 11.2.0.4 and 12.1.0.2 New CPU End Dates

With the upcoming on-premise release of Oracle Database 12.2.0.1, Oracle has updated the Critical Patch Update (CPU) security patch end dates for 11.2.0.4 and 12.1.0.2.  Currently (as of January 2017), only 11.2.0.4 and 12.1.0.2 are supported for CPUs.

The CPU end-dates, which correspond with the end of Extended Support, have been extended to October 2020 for 11.2.0.4 and July 2021 for 12.1.0.2.  The first year of extended support for both versions is free until December 2018 for 11.2.0.4 and July 2019 for 12.1.0.2.

Oracle E-Business Suite: 250 Security Vulnerabilities Fixed in the Last Year

Oracle has fixed 250 security vulnerabilities in the Oracle E-Business Suite from January 2016 to January 2017.  The past five Oracle Critical Update Updates (CPU) have included double or triple digit number of fixes for Oracle E-Business Suite.  Almost all these security vulnerabilities are exploitable in all versions of Oracle E-Business Suite including 11i, 12.0, 12.1, and 12.2.  Many of the 250 security vulnerabilities fixed are high risk vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), XML external entity attacks, and privilege escalation.

Oracle E-Business Suite 11i - Critical Patch Updates Extended for Tier 1 Support

As of December 2016, Oracle has extended Critical Patch Update (CPU) support for Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.10 until October 2017 for additional fee Tier 1 support/Advanced Contract Support (ACS) customers.  Starting with the April 2016 Critical Patch Update (CPU), Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.10 CPU patches are only available for customers with Tier 1/ACS support contracts.  See My Oracle Support Note ID 1596629.1 for more information.

Oracle Discoverer Security Alert - High impact to SOX Compliance and Financial Reporting

For those clients using Oracle Discoverer, especially those using Discoverer with the Oracle E-Business Suite for financial reporting, the October 2016 Oracle Critical Patch Update (CPU) include a high-risk vulnerability reported by Integrigy Corporation. CVE-2016-5495 is a vulnerability with the Discoverer EUL Code and Schema and has a base score 7.5. Integrigy believes this vulnerability affects all versions of Discoverer used with the Oracle E-Business Suite and that the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of reports are at risk.

Oracle E-Business Suite 11i - October 2016 is Last Critical Patch Update

Starting with the April 2016 Critical Patch Update (CPU), Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.10 CPU patches are only available for customers with additional fee Tier 1 support contracts.  As of December 2016, no more CPU patches are available for Oracle E-Business Suite 11i.  October 2016 is the last CPU patch for Oracle E-Business Suite 11i.  For 12.0, the last CPU patch was October 2015.

Oracle Database Critical Patch Update October 2016: 12.1.0.2 and 11.2.0.4 Only

The list of Oracle Database versions supported for Critical Patch Updates (CPU) is getting shorter and shorter.  Starting with the October 2016 CPU, only 12.1.0.2 and 11.2.0.4 are supported.  In order to apply CPU security patches for all other Oracle versions, the database must be upgraded to 12.1.0.2 or 11.2.0.4.  As these are terminal database releases, the final CPU patch for 12.1.0.2 is July 2021 and for 11.2.0.4 is October 2020.  For those who have not yet applied 12c CPU patches, only Patch Set Updates (PSU) are available which include both security fixes and a la

PeopleSoft Data Mover Security

The Data Mover allows for total manipulation of data within PeopleSoft. You can use it to transfer data among PeopleSoft databases, regardless of operating system and database vendor. To state that Data Mover scripts need to be carefully secured is an understatement – the security of Data Mover scripts and activities must be HIGHLY secured.

PeopleSoft Process Scheduler Security

When performing a PeopleSoft security audit Integrigy carefully reviews batch processing activity generated through the Process Scheduler. Of particular focus is who has access to administer the Process Scheduler and reviewing batch jobs to identify where jobs are being run with super user privileges.

To look today at your environment for who has access to manage the Process Scheduler, the following can be used:

PeopleSoft User Security

When performing a PeopleSoft security audit, reconciling users should be one of the first tasks. This includes default accounts created through the installation of PeopleSoft as well as user accounts associated with staff, vendors and customers.

The following are several of the topics that Integrigy investigates during our PeopleSoft security configuration assessments - take a look today at your settings:

PeopleSoft Jolt Security

Jolt along with Tuxedo supports PeopleSoft web requests. Specifically, Jolt is the layer between the application server and the web server. It is also described as a Java-enabled version of Tuxedo.

When performing a PeopleSoft security audit, Integrigy reviews in detail the PeopleSoft Jot security settings to ensure they are set per best practice recommendations.  To do this yourself, use the table below to review your settings. These settings should also be regularly reviewed to ensure against configuration drift.

PeopleSoft Web Portal Security

When performing a PeopleSoft security audit, Integrigy reviews in detail the PeopleSoft Web Portal security settings to ensure they are set per best practice recommendations.  To do this yourself, use the table below to review your settings.

These settings should also be regularly reviewed to ensure against configuration drift.

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