Oracle's October 2018 Update Includes 301 Security Fixes
18.10.2018 securityweek Vulnerebility

Oracle’s October 2018 Critical Patch Update (CPU) was rolled out on Tuesday with 301 security fixes, bringing the total of patches released this year to 1,119.

The enterprise software giant addressed bugs in 23 products this month, including Database Server, Communications Applications, Construction and Engineering Suite, E-Business Suite, Fusion Middleware, Hospitality Applications, Java SE, MySQL, PeopleSoft, and Retail Applications.

Of the vulnerabilities addressed with the latest CPU, over 60% were remotely exploitable without authentication. One in six vulnerabilities had a CVSS score of 9.0 or above, and 162 vulnerabilities were addressed in business-critical applications, Oracle’s advisory reveals.

Fusion Middleware was the most impacted Oracle product this month. It received 65 security fixes and 56 of the addressed vulnerabilities could be exploited remotely without authentication.

MySQL saw 38 security fixes (3 remotely exploitable flaws), Retail Applications received 31 patches (21 remotely exploitable vulnerabilities), PeopleSoft 24 (21 remotely exploitable), Sun Systems Products Suite 19 (9 remotely exploitable), E-Business Suite 16 (14 remotely exploitable), while Communications Applications received 14 patches (9 remotely exploitable), the same as Virtualization (only 1 remotely exploitable).

Java SE (12 patches), Construction and Engineering Suite (10 fixes), Hospitality Applications (9), Hyperion (9), Database Server (7) JD Edwards Products (6), Supply Chain Products Suite (6), Insurance Applications (5), Enterprise Manager Products Suite (4), Food and Beverage Applications (4), Siebel CRM (3), Financial Services Applications (2), iLearning (1), Health Sciences Applications (1), and Support Tools (1) were also affected by vulnerabilities.

Oracle this month addressed a critical issue in GoldenGate (CVE-2018-2913 – CVSS Base Score: 10.0). Easily exploitable, the vulnerability could allow an unauthenticated attacker with network access via TCP to compromise and take over GoldenGate.

Other important vulnerabilities resolved with the October 2018 CPU include CVE-2018-3259, which impacts Database Server; CVE-2018-1275, affecting Fusion Middleware; CVE-2018-7489, impacting JD Edwards Products; and CVE-2018-11776, affecting MySQL. All of these flaws have a CVSS score of 9.8.

At 301, this month’s CPU is the second largest for 2018, after July’s CPU. At 1,119, the total number of vulnerabilities addressed this year, however, is the same as that registered last year, as ERPScan, a company that specializes in securing Oracle and SAP applications, points out.

Over the past five years, the number of patches released by Oracle each year nearly tripled (it was 430 in 2013).

“The fact that Oracle has 430,000 applications customers from the wide range of industries in 175 countries makes it of the utmost importance to apply the released security patches,” ERPScan notes.