CVE-2024-20979VulnerabilityPublished 16 Jan 2024Updated 3 Jun 2025

CVE-2024-20979: Oracle BI Publisher (formerly XML Publisher) · Improper Authorization

Affects Oracle BI Publisher (formerly XML Publisher)Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.4 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 08:30 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.4Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 18% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Jan 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Mavencom.oracle/bi-publisher`pkg:maven/com.oracle/bi-publisher`Other threats	Affected =6.4.0.0.0 =7.0.0.0.0 =12.2.1.4.0	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

European organizations should implement targeted mitigations beyond generic advice: 1) Apply Oracle's security advisories promptly once patches become available for the affected BI Publisher versions. 2) Restrict network access to Oracle BI Publisher web interfaces to trusted internal networks or VPNs to reduce exposure to external attackers. 3) Enhance user awareness training focused on phishing and social engineering tactics, as exploitation requires user interaction. 4) Implement strict access controls and least privilege principles for BI Publisher users to limit the potential damage from compromised accounts. 5) Monitor BI Publisher logs and network traffic for unusual activities indicative of exploitation attempts, such as unauthorized data modifications or access patterns. 6) Consider deploying web application firewalls (WAFs) with rules tailored to detect and block suspicious HTTP requests targeting BI Publisher. 7) Review and audit integrations between BI Publisher and other Oracle products to understand and mitigate the scope change impact. 8) Establish incident response plans that include scenarios involving BI Publisher compromise to ensure rapid containment and remediation.

Description

Vulnerability in the Oracle BI Publisher product of Oracle Analytics (component: Web Server). Supported versions that are affected are 6.4.0.0.0, 7.0.0.0.0 and 12.2.1.4.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle BI Publisher. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Oracle BI Publisher, attacks may significantly impact additional products (scope change). Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle BI Publisher accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of Oracle BI Publisher accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 5.4 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk, especially for enterprises relying on Oracle BI Publisher for critical reporting and analytics. Unauthorized data modification or disclosure could lead to compliance violations under GDPR, particularly if personal or sensitive data is exposed or altered. The integrity compromise could affect decision-making processes based on BI Publisher reports, leading to operational disruptions or financial inaccuracies. The requirement for user interaction means that social engineering defenses are critical. The scope change indicates that the impact could extend beyond BI Publisher itself, potentially affecting integrated Oracle systems and amplifying the damage. Organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and manufacturing, which often use Oracle Analytics solutions, may face increased risks. Additionally, the medium severity score suggests that while the vulnerability is not critical, it should not be ignored, as exploitation could facilitate further attacks or data breaches.

CWE-285Improper Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product does not perform or incorrectly performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that you perform access control checks related to your business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that you apply to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLs (opens in a new tab)
Cross Zone Scripting (opens in a new tab)
Directory Indexing (opens in a new tab)
Subverting Environment Variable Values (opens in a new tab)
Using Malicious Files (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2024.html (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Jul 2025, 13:10 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-285

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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