Oracle ships critical update for database, applications

Oracle Corp. released its latest critical patch update on Wednesday, fixing 51 vulnerabilities in a range of products, including its flagship database line.

Oracle’s critical patch update fixes holes in Oracle Database Server, Oracle Application Server, Oracle Enterprise Manager, Oracle E-Business Suite, and Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise. Twenty-seven of the patched vulnerabilities are found in Oracle Database Server, including the most serious vulnerability fixed.

“The most critical, rating 6.5 with the new CVSS 2.0 metric, is a problem in the import utility,” said Alexander Kornbrust, managing director of Red Database Security GmbH, which found 13 of the 27 vulnerabilities in Oracle Database Server that are patched with this update. CVSS 2.0, or Common Vulnerability Scoring System version 2.0, is a rating system developed by the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams as a way of measuring the severity and urgency of IT vulnerabilities. The vulnerabilities patched by Oracle’s latest critical update have CVSS 2.0 ratings from 4.0 to 6.5.

The vulnerability in the import utility could allow an attacker to run code on a database as the user SYS, Kornbrust said. SYS is the most powerful user in an Oracle database, and is able to do and see more than a typical database administrator.

Kornbrust said database administrators can reduce their exposure to these and other vulnerabilities by hardening their databases and installing the minimum amount of features.

The next Oracle critical update is set for release in January.

Would you recommend this article?

Share

Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think of this article!
We'd love to hear your opinion about this or any other story you read in our publication.


Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

Featured Download

Featured Articles

Cybersecurity in 2024: Priorities and challenges for Canadian organizations 

By Derek Manky As predictions for 2024 point to the continued expansion...

Survey shows generative AI is a top priority for Canadian corporate leaders.

Leaders are devoting significant budget to generative AI for 2024 Canadian corporate...

Related Tech News

Tech Jobs

Our experienced team of journalists and bloggers bring you engaging in-depth interviews, videos and content targeted to IT professionals and line-of-business executives.

Tech Companies Hiring Right Now