Oracle on Thursday released an out-of-band advisory addressing a PeopleSoft vulnerability that can be exploited by an unauthenticated attacker for remote code execution.
The security alert comes amid reports that the notorious ShinyHunters hacker group has been targeting organizations that use PeopleSoft.
PeopleSoft is an integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) software suite widely used by large organizations for managing core business functions, including HR, payroll, finance, supply chain, and campus operations.
The newly disclosed vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-35273, and Oracle says it’s a critical issue that affects PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools versions 8.61 and 8.62. PeopleSoft Enterprise Applications users could also be impacted.
It appears that only mitigations have been released by Oracle rather than a full patch.
Oracle has not said whether CVE-2026-35273 has been exploited in the wild as a zero-day, but noted in its advisory, “We consider implementation of the recommended mitigations to be a high-priority risk reduction measure and strongly recommend immediate action to address the identified exposure.”
Bleeping Computer and TechCrunch learned from hackers claiming to be affiliated with the ShinyHunters group that they targeted 300 PeopleSoft instances belonging to more than 100 organizations.
The hackers claimed to have chained old and zero-day vulnerabilities to gain access to data stored in the targeted PeopleSoft environments. The attacks appear to have been confirmed by a researcher, and Mandiant CTO Charles Carmakal has warned about zero-day exploitation.
It’s not surprising that ShinyHunters would target software widely used by major enterprises to steal data that could later be used to extort victims. The cybercriminals previously targeted Salesforce customers in a massive data-theft campaign.
Bleeping Computer reported that the education sector was hit the hardest, and the University of Nottingham is one of the victims. The university has confirmed that it suffered a significant data breach.
While Oracle’s advisory does not mention exploitation, it’s not uncommon for the company to omit confirming in-the-wild attacks in its public documentation.
SecurityWeek reached out to Oracle for comment, but the company has not responded by the time of writing.
TrendAI researchers have been credited by Oracle for reporting the vulnerability. Dustin Childs, Head of Threat Awareness at TrendAI’s Zero Day Initiative, told SecurityWeek, “Currently, we’re seeing limited exploitation, but our investigation is ongoing.”
The news comes shortly after CISA warned of a 2024 Oracle WebLogic vulnerability being exploited in the wild.
*updated with comments from Dustin Childs
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