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Oracle WebLogic Vulnerability: CVE-2017-10271
2025.09.02

✅ Report Title: Oracle WebLogic Vulnerability Report: CVE-2017-10271



✅ Executive Summary


- On October 19, 2017, Oracle released an emergency patch addressing the WebLogic vulnerability CVE-2017-10271.


- The vulnerability was confirmed to affect the following product versions:

  - Oracle WebLogic < 10.3.6.0.0

  - Oracle WebLogic < 12.1.3.0.0

  - Oracle WebLogic < 12.2.1.1.0

  - Oracle WebLogic < 12.2.1.2.0


- The issue was published with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5 (High).


- As multiple threat actors have continued to actively exploit this vulnerability in recent years, immediate remediation is strongly recommended.



📌 What caused the vulnerability?


- This is a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability caused by unsafe deserialization within Oracle WebLogic.


- Specifically, it originates from insecure deserialization in the WSAT (Web Services Atomic Transaction) endpoint of WebLogic Server.


- Attackers exploit this by leveraging the T3 protocol to send malicious XML requests to the CoordinatorPortType web service.


  - The flaw occurs in the WorkContextXmlInputAdapter class within the WLS Security component.


- When processing serialized XML data, the XMLDecoder deserializes attacker-supplied Java objects (e.g., java.lang.Class) without proper validation.


- As a result, a remote attacker can achieve arbitrary code execution on the affected system.



📌 What is the attack scenario?


- Attackers conduct mass scanning across IP ranges, targeting the default WebLogic port 7001.


- They determine whether the responding server is running a vulnerable version.


- Malicious serialized payloads are delivered to exploit the vulnerability.


- Successful exploitation enables attackers to install a web shell or similar files, ensuring persistence.



✅ Recommended Threat Detection and Mitigation Actions:


- Monitor traffic to T3 protocol ports/services for abnormal data patterns.


- Deploy detection rules to identify XML payloads containing known malicious patterns.


- Flag and investigate execution attempts that deviate from normal WebLogic behavior.


- Apply the latest security updates and patches immediately.


- Continuously update threat detection rules and conduct proactive monitoring.


- If patching is not immediately possible:

  - Consider disabling the CoordinatorPortType component if it is not in use.

 


(Note: Proof-of-Concept (PoC) and exploit code for this vulnerability are publicly available.)

Link: https://github.com/1337g/CVE-2017-10271/blob/master/CVE-2017-10271.py



🧑‍💻 Report Author: S2W TALON


👉 Contact us: https://s2w.inc/en/contact


*The full report is available upon request and for QUAXAR subscribers.


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