Software Engineering Institute

BEA Systems describes WebLogic Server as "an industrial-strength application infrastructure for developing, integrating, securing, and managing distributed Java applications." There is a vulnerability in the way Weblogic Builder and the SecurityRoleAssignmentMBean.toXML method handle missing tags in the weblogic.xml file. When this file contains the <security-role-assignment> tag, but does not contain a <principal-name> tag, the <security-role-assignment> tag is removed and default roles are assigned by the Servlet container.

According to the BEA Security Advisory, the following versions of WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express are affected by this vulnerability.

• WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express version 8.1 through Service Pack 2, on all platforms.
• WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express version 7.0 through Service Pack 5, on all platforms.

A remote user may be able to gain unauthorized access to a web application.

Apply a PatchBEA has issued an advisory to address this issue. According to the BEA Security Advisory, the following actions are recommended:

WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express version 8.1

Any weblogic.xml file that has been edited by Weblogic Builder must be examined to ensure that all of the desired <security-role-assignment> tags are still in the file.

To prevent this problem in the future:

1. Upgrade to WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express version 8.1 Service Pack 2.
2. Install the patch from: ftp://ftpna.beasys.com/pub/releases/security/CR171885_810sp2.jar

WebLogic Server version 8.1 Service Pack 3 will include the functionality in this patch.

You can also examine any weblogic.xml file that has been edited by WebLogic Builder and re-enter any <security-role-assignment> tags that have been deleted.

WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express version 7.0

Any weblogic.xml file that has been edited by Weblogic Builder must be examined to ensure that all of the desired <security-role-assignment> tags are still in the file.

To prevent this problem in the future:

1. Upgrade to WebLogic Server and WebLogic Express version 7.0 Service Pack 5.
2. Install the patch from: ftp://ftpna.beasys.com/pub/releases/security/CR171885_70sp5.jar

WebLogic Server version 7.0 Service Pack 6 will include the functionality in this patch.

You can also examine any weblogic.xml file that has been edited by WebLogic Builder and re-enter any <security-role-assignment> tags that have been deleted.