Security Advisories and Notifications

Security Advisory: (BEA06-105.01)

From: Oracle Corporation

Minor Subject: Certain HTTP requests may be used to launch HTTP Request Smuggling attacks on the server.

Product(s) Affected: WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express

This security advisory (BEA06-105.01) contains updated information in Section II.

This security advisory (BEA06-105.01) contains the corrected remedy for this vulnerability on WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express 7.0. While the previous version resolved the vulnerability described herein, the patch was updated due to the release of advisory BEA06-106.01. Therefore, the URL in Section II has been updated to retrieve the new version of the patch. Oracle recommends an upgrade to the new patch (see below).

Please disregard security advisory BEA05-105.00, as this advisory, BEA06-105.01, supersedes it.

Threat level: Medium

In certain configurations, a knowledgeable user may remotely attack the server.

Severity: High

A successful attack may result in a corrupt cache server, the inability of the firewall to detect malicious requests, or the theft of client credentials (for example, when two clients share a TCP connection.)

A problem was identified that could potentially cause a security vulnerability in certain versions of WebLogic Server. Patches and an upgrade are available to correct this problem (see Section II). Oracle treats potential security problems with a high degree of urgency and endeavors to take appropriate steps to help ensure the security of our customers' systems. As a result, Oracle strongly suggests the following actions:

I. Read the following advisory.

II. Apply the suggested action.

III. If you know of any additional users interested in future security advisories, please forward them the registration instructions included in this advisory.

I. Advisory

Sites where HTTP requests pass through another entity (for example, a cache server, firewall, or web proxy server) before reaching WebLogic Server may be vulnerable to carefully crafted HTTP requests that exploit differences in behavior between the entity and WebLogic Server. This attack is known as HTTP Request Smuggling. HTTP requests may be used to corrupt the cache server, blind the firewall to malicious requests, and potentially allow the theft of a users credentials.

This patch resolves the issue by improving how WebLogic Server rejects malformed HTTP requests.

The following versions of WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express are affected by this vulnerability

  • WebLogic Server 8.1 released through Service Pack 4, on all platforms.
  • WebLogic Server 7.0 released through Service Pack 6, on all platforms.
  • WebLogic Server 6.1 released through Service Pack 7, on all platforms.

II. SUGGESTED ACTION

BEA System strongly recommends the following course of actions.

WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express version 8.1

  1. Upgrade to service pack 5.

WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express version 7.0

  1. Upgrade to WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express 7.0 Service Pack 6.
  2. Download and apply the patch #7824107 from OracleMetaLink as per the instructions below:
    1. Select the Patches and Updates tab after logging in to OracleMetaLink.
    2. Click Simple Search.
    3. In the Search By field, select Patch Number from the list.
    4. Enter the patch number. The patch number may be different for different product releases and platforms.
    5. Select the platform (or choose generic as applicable)
    6. Click Go.
    7. Click Download to download the patch.
  3. Place the jar for the patch in the CLASSPATH before the weblogic.jar file.

Note: The patch above is the same as the patch included in BEA05-106.01. The two patches were combined due to a class conflict in the jar file. Applying this one jar file resolves both issues. This patch also includes the fix from BEA05-80.02.

WebLogic Server 7.0 Service Pack 7 will include the functionality in this patch.

WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express version 6.1

  1. Upgrade to WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express 6.1 Service Pack 7.
  2. Download and apply the patch #7824098 from OracleMetaLink as per the instructions below:
    1. Select the Patches and Updates tab after logging in to OracleMetaLink.
    2. Click Simple Search.
    3. In the Search By field, select Patch Number from the list.
    4. Enter the patch number. The patch number may be different for different product releases and platforms.
    5. Select the platform (or choose generic as applicable)
    6. Click Go.
    7. Click Download to download the patch.
  3. Place the jar for the patch in the CLASSPATH before the weblogic.jar file.

Note: This patch also includes the fix from BEA05-80.02.

SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS

Oracle strongly suggests that customers apply the remedies recommended in all our security advisories. Oracle also urges customers to apply every Service/Maintenance Pack as they are released. Service/Maintenance Packs include a roll-up of all bug fixes for each version of the product, as well as each of the prior Service/Maintenance Packs. Service/Maintenance Packs.

As a policy, if there are any security-related issues with any Oracle product, Oracle will distribute an advisory and instructions with the appropriate course of action. Because the security of your site, data, and code is our highest priority, we are committed to communicating all security-related issues clearly and openly.

Additional users who wish to register for product advisory distribution should follow the registration directions at: http://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/.

Security issues can be reported to Oracle by following the directions at: http://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/.

Thank you,

Oracle Corporation