A security research firm based in Argentina, Argeniss, had announced a plan to publicly disclose an unfixed Oracle Database security bug every day for a week in December - "The Week of Oracle Database Bugs." A disclosed unpatched security bug is referred to as a 0-day (or zero day). Argeniss' motivation is "to demostrate Oracle isn't getting any better at securing its products."
Oracle Database session information includes database user name, operating system user name, host, terminal, IP address, module, program, timestamps, session ID, and other details. These values are critical to auditing and identifying the actual end-user. Many of the database session values can be “spoofed” by an attacker either to mask their true identity or to circumvent security and auditing measures. It should come as no shock to anyone that many of these values can be spoofed since this fact has been widely discussed for years.
Oracle has adopted the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) as its standard for communicating the severity of security vulnerabilities in its products. The critics have already jumped on Oracle for "manipulating" the CVSS scores for the October 2006 Critical Patch Update (CPU) (story here).
Oracle has updated the white paper "Best Practices for Securing Oracle E-Business Suite version 3.0.4" Metalink Note ID 189367.1. The major changes to the document include -
If you analyze Oracle's Critical Patch Update for October 2006 Advisory and look for any vulnerabilities affecting the Oracle Database version 9.2.0.8, you will see in the "Oracle Database Risk Matrix" that there are no vulnerabilities for 9.2.0.8. In the "Supported Products and Components Affected" section, 9.2.0.8 is not listed. In the initial release on October 17th of the "Critical Patch Update Availability for Oracle Server and Middleware Products" (
We have released our quarterly Oracle E-Business Suite Impact analysis for the Oracle Critical Patch Update (CPU) October 2006. This analysis looks at the CPU from an Oracle E-Business Suite perspective and provides additional details on the fixed vulnerabilities and a patching strategy for the Oracle Database, Oracle Application Server, Oracle Developer 6i, Oracle JInitiator, and Oracle Applications 11i.
As with previous Oracle Critical Patch Updates (CPU), a number of the database patches have not yet been released. Major versions and operating systems are on the list. Oracle has already "desupported" a number of versions by stealth through not supplying security patches (e.g., 9.2.0.1 - 9.2.0.5). Customers really need to push Oracle to get the patches out on-time, especially for major releases and operating systems. I can see not having z/OS and Linux on Power ready, but Unix and Linux? Most of the missing patches are backports on mainstream operati
We have released our E-Business Technology Stack Support Matrix for the Oracle Critical Patch Update (CPU) October 2006. The supported technology stack versions required by Oracle’s Critical Patch Updates (CPU) may be different from the certified technology stack versions. A prime example is that 9.2.0.5 is certified for Oracle Applications, but is not supported by the October 2006 CPU. The Technology Stack support matrix highlights the differences between certified versions and CPU October 2006 required versions.
Oracle has released the Critical Patch Update (CPU) for October 2006. 101 new vulnerabilities across all Oracle products are fixed in this CPU of which 45 are remotely exploitable. The overall number is high as compared to previous CPUs, but includes a similar number of database and application server vulnerabilities. The spike is due to 35 vulnerabilities in Oracle Application Express (formerly HTMLDB).
The Oracle Global Product Security team has announced some new changes to Oracle's quarterly Critical Patch Update (CPU) documentation.
Oracle has updated the "Integrating Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i with Oracle Internet Directory and Oracle Single Sign-On" whitepaper from build 3.2 to build 4.0. This whitepaper is a detailed description of implementing Single-Sign-On for Oracle Applications 11i. It is one of the more useful Oracle documents, especially since it covers multiple scenarios and provides details on limitations. The scenarios include Oracle-only implementatio
Oracle has finally certified the use of Advanced Security Option/Advanced Network Option for encryption of SQL*Net traffic between the database and application servers. This certification had been promised for several years.
The Advanced Security Option (ASO) is an optional component of the Oracle Database and is an extra cost. Advanced Networking Option (ANO) is the previous name of ASO in Oracle 8.0.x, which is also utilized in an Oracle Applications 11i configuration since Forms, Reports, and Concurrent Manager still use an 8.0.6.3 ORACLE_HOME.
Oracle is now pushing all 11.5.10 implementations even harder in terms of mandating minimum patch levels. The October 2006 Critical Patch Update (CPU) will require at least ATG_PF.H.RUP3 and ATG_PF.H.RUP4 is recommended. These patches are not included in the base for any 11.5.10 release including CU2. 11.5.7, 11.5.8, and 11.5.9 customers must be at the minimum baseline in
The Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002 requires all government agencies to submit to the Office of Management and Budget an annual evaluation of IT security across the agency. The overall results of these reports are complied and reported in the annual "Federal Computer Security Report Card", which scored the Federal government a D+.