Oracle Critical Patch Update Advisory - October 2008

Description

A Critical Patch Update is a collection of patches for multiple security vulnerabilities. It also includes non-security fixes that are required (because of interdependencies) by those security patches. Critical Patch Updates are cumulative, except as noted below, but each advisory describes only the security fixes added since the previous Critical Patch Update. Thus, prior Critical Patch Update Advisories should be reviewed for information regarding earlier accumulated security fixes. Please refer to

Due to the threat posed by a successful attack, Oracle strongly recommends that customers apply fixes as soon as possible. This Critical Patch Update contains 36 new security fixes across all products.

Supported Products and Components Affected

Security vulnerabilities addressed by this Critical Patch Update affect the products listed in the categories below. The product area of the patches for the listed versions is shown in [square brackets] following the product versions. Please click on the link in [square brackets] or in the Patch Availability Table to access the documentation for those patches.

Product releases and versions that are in Premier Support or Extended Support, under the Oracle Lifetime Support policy:

Products and components that are bundled with the products listed in Category I.
No products in this category are affected by the fixes included in this Critical Patch Update.

Products that are de-supported as a standalone installation but are supported when installed with the products listed in Category I:

Patches for Category III products are only available when these products are installed as part of Category I products, and are tested solely on supported configurations and environments. Please refer to the documentation for each product for specific details concerning the support and availability of patches.

Patch Availability Table and Risk Matrices

The Oracle Database, Oracle Application Server, Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control, Oracle E-Business Suite Applications (Release 12 only), JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, JD Edwards OneWorld Tools, PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal Applications, PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools and Siebel Enterprise patches in the Updates are cumulative; patches for any product included in a Critical Patch Update will include all fixes for that product from the previous Critical Patch Updates.

Oracle E-Business Suite Applications Release 11i patches are not cumulative, so Oracle E-Business Suite Applications customers should refer to previous Critical Patch Updates to identify previous security fixes they want to apply. Oracle Collaboration Suite patches were cumulative up to and including the fixes provided in the July 2007 Critical Patch Update. From the July 2007 Critical Patch Update on, Oracle Collaboration Suite security fixes are delivered using the one-off patch infrastructure normally used by Oracle to deliver single bug fixes to customers. Patches for BEA products are not cumulative (unless otherwise stated), so BEA customers should refer to previous Security Advisories to identify previous security fixes they want to apply.

For each Oracle product being administered, please consult the documentation for patch availability information and installation instructions referenced from the following table. For an overview of the Oracle product documentation related to this Critical Patch Update, please refer to the Oracle Critical Patch Update October 2008 Documentation Map, MetaLink Note 738895.1.

Risk Matrix Content

Risk matrices list only security vulnerabilities that are newly fixed by the patches associated with this advisory. Risk matrices for previous security fixes can be found in previous Critical Patch Update advisories.

Several vulnerabilities addressed in this Critical Patch Update affect multiple products. The same vulnerability appears with the same Vuln # in all risk matrices. Italics indicate vulnerabilities in code included from other product areas.

Security vulnerabilities are scored using CVSS version 2.0 (see Oracle CVSS Scoring for an explanation of how Oracle applies CVSS 2.0). Oracle conducts an analysis of each security vulnerability addressed by a Critical Patch Update (CPU). Oracle does not disclose information about the security analysis, but the resulting Risk Matrix and associated documentation provide information about the type of vulnerability, the conditions required to exploit it, and the potential result of a successful exploit. Oracle provides this information, in part, so that customers may conduct their own risk analysis based on the particulars of their product usage. As a matter of policy, Oracle does not disclose detailed information about an exploit condition or results that can be used to conduct a successful exploit. Oracle will not provide additional information about the specifics of vulnerabilities beyond what is provided in the CPU or Security Alert notification, the Patch Availability Matrix, the readme files, and FAQs. Oracle does not provide advance notification on CPUs or Security Alerts to individual customers. Finally, Oracle does not distribute exploit code or “proof-of-concept” code for product vulnerabilities.

Starting in the July 2008 Critical Patch Update, Oracle uses Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) identifiers rather than Oracle proprietary identifiers for identifying vulnerabilities (Vuln#) in Risk Matrices (see FAQ). Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures maintains a dictionary of CVE Identifiers for publicly known security vulnerabilities.

Workarounds

Due to the threat posed by a successful attack, Oracle strongly recommends that customers apply fixes as soon as possible. Until you apply the CPU fixes, it may be possible to reduce the risk of successful attack by restricting network protocols required by an attack. For attacks that require certain privileges or access to certain packages, removing the privileges or the ability to access the packages from unprivileged users may help reduce the risk of successful attack. Both approaches may break application functionality, so Oracle strongly recommends that customers test changes on non-production systems. Neither approach should be considered a long-term solution as neither corrects the underlying problem.

Unsupported Products and De-Supported Versions

Unsupported products, releases and versions are not tested for the presence of vulnerabilities addressed by this Critical Patch Update. However, it is likely that earlier patch sets of affected releases are also affected by these vulnerabilities.

Critical Patch Update patches are not provided for product versions that are no longer covered under the Premier Support or Extended Support phases of the Lifetime Support Policy. We recommend that customers upgrade to the latest supported version of Oracle products in order to obtain patches.

Extended Support Phase: Critical Patch Update patches are available to customers who have purchased Extended Support under the Lifetime Support Policy. Customers must have a valid Extended Support service contract to be able to download Critical Patch Update patches for products in the Extended Support Phase. Critical Patch Update patches may not be downloaded to update products supported with Sustaining Support, or to update any unsupported products.

Supported Database, Fusion Middleware and Collaboration Suite products are patched in accordance with the Software Error Correction Support Policy explained in MetaLink Note 209768.1. Please review the Technical Support Policies for further guidelines regarding support policies and phases of support.

On Request Model for Oracle Database and Oracle Application Server

Oracle will proactively create patches only for platform/version combinations that, based on historical data, customers are likely to download for the next Critical Patch Update. We create patches for historically inactive platform/version combinations of the Oracle Database and Oracle Application Server only if requested by customers. Fixes for the vulnerabilities will continue to be included in future releases and patch sets.

Additional details regarding the products, versions and platforms that will be supported for the next Critical Patch Update and the process for requesting On Request patches are available in the Critical Patch Update October 2008 Availability Information for Oracle Database and Fusion Middleware Products (MetaLink Note 735216.1).

Credit Statement

Security-In-Depth Contributors

Oracle provides recognition to people that have contributed to our Security-In-Depth program (see FAQ). People are recognized for Security-In-Depth contributions if they provide information, observations or suggestions pertaining to security vulnerability issues that result in significant modification of Oracle code or documentation in future releases, but are not of such a critical nature that they are distributed in Critical Patch Updates.

For this Critical Patch Update, Oracle recognizes Chris Anley of NGS Software; Jeff Kayser of Jibe Consulting; David Litchfield of NGS Software; Joshua Tolley of Partnet Inc. for contributions to Oracle's Security-In-Depth program.

Critical Patch Update Schedule

Critical Patch Updates are released on the Tuesday closest to the 15th day of January, July, April and October. The next four dates are:

• 13 January 2009
• 14 April 2009
• 14 July 2009
• 20 October 2009

• Oracle Critical Patch Updates and Security Alerts main page  [ Oracle Technology Network ]
• Oracle PeopleSoft Security main page  [ PeopleSoft Security main page ]
• Critical Patch Update - October 2008 Documentation Map   [ MetaLink Note 738895.1 ]
• Oracle Critical Patch Updates and Security Alerts - Frequently Asked Questions [ CPU FAQ ]  
• Risk Matrix definitions   [ Risk Matrix Definitions ]
• Use of Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) by Oracle   [ Oracle CVSS Scoring ]
• List of public vulnerabilities fixed in Critical Patch Updates and Security Alerts   [ Oracle Technology Network ]
• Software Error Correction Support Policy   [ MetaLink Note 209768.1 ]
• Security Advisories Notifications for BEA products   [ BEA Security Advisories ]

Modification History

Oracle Database Executive Summary

This Critical Patch Update contains 15 new security fixes for the Database Suite.  1 of these vulnerabilities may be remotely exploitable without authentication, i.e. may be exploited over a network without the need for a username and password.  None of these fixes are applicable to client-only installations, i.e. installations that do not have an Oracle Database installed.

No new security fixes for the following products:

• Oracle Secure Enterprise Search, which is a separate product that is not installed with the Oracle Database.
• Oracle Audit Vault, which is a separate product that is not installed with the Oracle Database.
• Times Ten In-Memory Database. Please see Critical Patch Update for July 2008 to apply the most recent set of security fixes for Times Ten In-Memory Database.
• Oracle HTTP Server, which is installed by default with Oracle Database 9i Release 2. For Oracle Database versions 10g and higher, Oracle HTTP Server is on the Companion CD, is separately installable, and is not installed with the Database. Oracle recommends that customers apply this Critical Patch Update to Oracle HTTP Server installations including those installed by default in Oracle Database 9i Release 2.

Notes:

1. Instructions to address the Workspace Manager vulnerability may be found in MetaLink Note 735216.1.
2. Versions listed are after upgrade.
3. Instructions to address the Application Express vulnerability may be found in MetaLink Note 735216.1.

Oracle Database Client-only Installations

No new vulnerabilities affect Oracle Database client-only installations (installations that do not have the Oracle Database installed).

Oracle Secure Enterprise Search

Oracle Secure Enterprise Search 10g is a standalone product that enables searching across a corporation's enterprise information assets. Unless you installed the Oracle Secure Enterprise Search product, it will not be present on your system and no further action is required.

The security vulnerabilities listed in the previous Critical Patch Advisories are fixed in Oracle Secure Enterprise Search 10g, version 10.1.8.3. Customers on previous versions of Secure Enterprise Search should upgrade to version 10.1.8.3 or later. Instructions on upgrading Oracle Secure Enterprise Search can be found in the Online Documentation. This, and the software to install, is referenced from the Oracle Technology Network Secure Enterprise Search page.

Oracle Secure Enterprise Search 10g includes Oracle Database 10g version 10.1.0.5, and since vulnerabilities affecting this Database version may affect Oracle Secure Enterprise Search, Oracle recommends that customers apply the October 2008 Critical Patch Update to the embedded Database.

Oracle Audit Vault

Oracle Audit Vault 10g is a standalone product that collects and analyzes audit data from multiple systems. Unless you installed the Oracle Audit Vault product, it will not be present on your system and no further action is required.

Oracle Audit Vault 10g includes Oracle Database 10g version 10.2.0.3, and since vulnerabilities affecting this Database version may affect Oracle Audit Vault, Oracle recommends that customers apply the October 2008 Critical Patch Update to the embedded database. Please review the Critical Patch Update October 2008 Availability Information for Oracle Database and Fusion Middleware Products, MetaLink Note 735216.1 before applying the October 2008 Critical Patch Update to the embedded Database.

Overview of Oracle Application Express

Oracle Application Express is a rapid web application development tool for the Oracle Database. In Oracle Database releases up to and including 10g Release 2, Oracle Application Express was separately installed from a Companion CD supplied with the Oracle Database CD set or from a package downloaded from an Oracle web site. If you have not installed Oracle Application Express from the companion CD, no further action is required.

From Oracle Database 11g onwards, Oracle Application Express is included in the default installation of the Oracle Database. Hence, customers with Oracle Database 11g installation must install Oracle Application Express 3.1.2, or later, to apply the security fixes.

To check for the presence of Application Express on a system, run the following command from a SQL prompt as SYS:
select username from dba_users where username in ('FLOWS_010500','FLOWS_010600','FLOWS_020000','FLOWS_020200','FLOWS_030000','FLOWS_030100');

If the result is 'no rows selected' then no version of the product is installed and no further action is required. Other output indicates Oracle Application Express is installed, even if it is not actively in use.

Upgrading Oracle Application Express

There is one Oracle Application Express security vulnerability listed in the risk matrix above. Security vulnerabilities in Oracle Application Express are fixed in version 3.1.2 and later. Instructions on upgrading and the software to install the latest version of Oracle Application Express can be found on:
http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/database/application_express/download.html.

Oracle Application Server Executive Summary

This Critical Patch Update contains 6 new security fixes for the Application Server Suite.  2 of these vulnerabilities may be remotely exploitable without authentication, i.e. may be exploited over a network without the need for a username and password.  3 of these fixes are applicable to client-only installations, i.e. installations that do not have Oracle Application Server installed.

Oracle Application Server products that are bundled with the Oracle Database are affected by the vulnerabilities listed in the Oracle Database section. They are not discussed further in this section and are not listed in the Oracle Application Server risk matrix.

Notes:

1. Application Server 1.0.2.2 is only supported when used by Oracle E-Business Suite 11i.
2. The versions in the matrix refer to standalone versions of JDeveloper.

Oracle Application Server Client-only Installations

CVE-2008-2588, CVE-2008-3986 and CVE-2008-3987 affect Oracle Application Server client-only installations.

Oracle Collaboration Suite Executive Summary

There are no new Oracle Collaboration Suite specific fixes in this Critical Patch Update. Please see Critical Patch Update for January 2008 to apply the most recent set of security fixes for Oracle Collaboration Suite.

This Critical Patch Update contains no new fixes to Oracle Application Server vulnerabilities that are in code included in Oracle Collaboration Suite. Oracle Collaboration Suite bundles the Oracle Database. All the security fixes listed in the Oracle Database part of the Oracle Database section are applicable.

Oracle E-Business Suite and Applications Executive Summary

This Critical Patch Update contains 4 new security fixes for the Applications Suite.  2 of these vulnerabilities may be remotely exploitable without authentication, i.e. may be exploited over a network without the need for a username and password.  None of these fixes are applicable to Oracle Applicaton Suite client-only installations.

Oracle E-Business Suite 11i includes Oracle9i Application Server, version 1.0.2.2 code, including Oracle Reports Developer. 1 of the Oracle Application Server vulnerabilities fixed in this Critical Patch Update affects this version.

Oracle E-Business Suite products include an Oracle Database which is affected by the vulnerabilities listed in the Oracle Database section. The exposure of Oracle E-Business Suite products is dependent on the Oracle Database version being used. Oracle Database vulnerabilities are not listed in the Oracle E-Business Suite risk matrix, but since vulnerabilities affecting this Database version may affect Oracle E-Business Suite products, Oracle recommends that customers apply the October 2008 Critical Patch Update to the embedded Database.

Appendix E - Oracle Enterprise Manager

Oracle Enterprise Manager Executive Summary

This Critical Patch Update contains no new security fixes for the Enterprise Manager Suite.   Please see Critical Patch Update July 2008 to apply the most recent set of security fixes for Enterprise Manager Suite.

Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Grid Control includes Oracle Database and Oracle Application Server components that are affected by the vulnerabilities listed in the Oracle Database and Oracle Application Server sections. The exposure of a particular installation of Oracle Enterprise Manager depends on the Oracle Database and Oracle Application Server versions being used. Oracle recommends that customers apply the October 2008 Critical Patch Update to the embedded Oracle Database and Oracle Application Server.

Releases of Oracle Enterprise Manager before Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Grid Control include Oracle Database components that are affected by the vulnerabilities listed in the Oracle Database section. The exposure of a particular installation of Oracle Enterprise Manager depends on the Oracle Database version being used. Oracle recommends that customers apply the October 2008 Critical Patch Update to the embedded Oracle Database.

Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise and JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Executive Summary

This Critical Patch Update contains 5 new security fixes for the PeopleSoft and JDEdwards Suite.  2 of these vulnerabilities may be remotely exploitable without authentication, i.e. may be exploited over a network without the need for a username and password.   

Appendix G - Oracle Siebel Enterprise

Oracle Siebel Enterprise Executive Summary

This Critical Patch Update contains no new security fixes for the Siebel Suite. Please see Critical Patch Update Advisory April 2008 to apply the most recent security fixes for Siebel products.

BEA Products Executive Summary

Notes:

1. Follow the link, CVE-2008-4008 to obtain download, installation and other information pertaining to this vulnerability fix. Fixes for Apache Plugin are cumulative. Distribution of this fix includes the separate fix for CVE-2008-3257, which was announced in August 2008, in Security Alert CVE-2008-3257.
2. Follow the link for each of the CVE numbers to obtain download, installation and other information pertaining to the corresponding vulnerability fix: CVE-2008-4009, CVE-2008-4010, CVE-2008-4011, CVE-2008-4012, CVE-2008-4013