Oracle APEX: Missing authentication allows takeover of the application platform
Summary
Oracle APEX, Oracle's low-code platform for enterprise web applications, has a missing authentication flaw in its General component. An unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTPS can compromise APEX and take it over, with high impact on confidentiality, integrity and availability. No user interaction or credentials are needed, and the attack complexity is low. Exposure to the internet makes this especially critical.
Affected
- Oracle APEX 24.1.0 to 24.1.21
- Oracle APEX 24.2.0 to 24.2.20
- Oracle APEX 26.1.0 to 26.1.4
Fixed in
- Fixed in the Oracle October 2026 Critical Patch Update. Exact fixed APEX release numbers: Unknown.
Workaround
- No vendor workaround found.
- Interim measure (not from a vendor source): restrict access to APEX instances at the reverse proxy or firewall to required users and networks until patching is complete.
Exploitation
- Exploited in the wild: no evidence found as of 21-22 October 2026. Not listed in the CISA KEV catalog at the time of checking.
- Public proof of concept: none found.
- EPSS: 0.00576 (low exploitation probability).
- CISA SSVC: Exploitation none, automatable yes, technical impact total.
Our recommendation
- Identify all APEX instances, including development and test systems.
- Apply the October 2026 Oracle CPU to all APEX 24.1, 24.2 and 26.1 instances.
- Until patched, restrict access to APEX instances to required users and networks; do not expose them to the internet.
- Review web and proxy logs for unauthenticated requests to APEX endpoints since the patch window opened.
- Recheck the CISA KEV catalog and vendor advisory for updates.
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- Oracle Critical Patch Update Advisory October 2026 www.oracle.com
- NVD/CNA record mirror (vulners) vulners.com
- GitHub Advisory Database GHSA-rhq8-7qph-vw39 github.com
- Brandefense Oracle October 2026 CPU (KEV check) brandefense.io
- Positive Technologies PT-2026-119206 vulners.com
- GBHackers Oracle 1,295 security patches gbhackers.com
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 30 Oct 2026, 17:21.
Original description (NVD)
Vulnerability in Oracle APEX (component: General). Supported versions that are affected are 24.1.0-24.1.21, 24.2.0-24.2.20 and 26.1.0-26.1.4. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTPS to compromise Oracle APEX. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of Oracle APEX. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 9.8 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
NVD references (1)
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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