CVE-1999-1587 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
/usr/ucb/ps in Sun Microsystems Solaris 8 and 9, and certain earlier releases, allows local users to view the environment variables and values of arbitrary processes via the -e option.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/31/2024
This vulnerability exists in the ps command implementation within Sun Microsystems Solaris operating systems versions 8 and 9, as well as earlier releases. The flaw is specifically located in the /usr/ucb/ps binary which is part of the standard user command utilities. The vulnerability stems from improper access control mechanisms within the process monitoring utility that fails to properly validate user permissions when accessing process information. When users invoke the ps command with the -e option, they can retrieve environment variable information from processes that they should not normally have access to, creating a significant information disclosure risk.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the ps command's handling of the -e flag which is designed to display environment variables for processes. However, the command lacks proper authentication and authorization checks that would normally prevent users from accessing environment variables of processes owned by other users or running with elevated privileges. This flaw is categorized under CWE-200 Information Exposure and represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege in system security. The vulnerability allows local users to escalate their information gathering capabilities beyond normal system boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive configuration data, authentication tokens, or other confidential environment variables that could be leveraged for further exploitation.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables attackers to perform reconnaissance activities without requiring elevated privileges or specific system access rights. The exposure of environment variables can reveal critical system information including database connection strings, API keys, cryptographic secrets, or other sensitive data that applications may store in their environment. This information disclosure can facilitate more sophisticated attacks such as privilege escalation, lateral movement, or targeted exploitation of other system vulnerabilities. The vulnerability affects the fundamental security model of the operating system by allowing unauthorized information access through standard system utilities.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should include immediate patching of affected Solaris versions through official Sun Microsystems security updates or applying the relevant security patches. System administrators should also implement additional monitoring to detect unusual ps command usage patterns, particularly when the -e option is invoked. Access controls should be reviewed to ensure that only authorized users can execute process monitoring commands with elevated privileges. The principle of least privilege should be enforced by restricting access to system utilities that can disclose sensitive information. Additionally, regular security audits should be conducted to identify and remediate similar access control flaws in other system utilities. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1057 Process Discovery, where adversaries gather information about running processes and their associated environment variables to understand system configurations and identify potential targets for exploitation. Organizations should also consider implementing mandatory access controls or discretionary access controls to limit the scope of information that can be accessed through standard command-line utilities.