CVE-2002-0085 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
cachefsd in Solaris 2.6, 7, and 8 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via an invalid procedure call in an RPC request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/19/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-0085 affects the cachefsd component within Solaris operating systems version 2.6, 7, and 8. This represents a significant security flaw in the distributed file system implementation that could be exploited by remote attackers to disrupt system operations. The cachefsd service is responsible for managing cached file data in distributed environments, making it a critical component for network file access and performance optimization. When this service receives malformed RPC requests containing invalid procedure calls, it fails to properly validate the incoming data and subsequently crashes, leading to a complete denial of service condition that affects file access capabilities across the networked system.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in inadequate input validation within the RPC processing mechanisms of the cachefsd service. Specifically, when the service receives an RPC request with an invalid procedure call, it does not implement proper error handling or bounds checking to prevent the system from crashing. This flaw aligns with CWE-129, Input Validation, and CWE-20, Improper Input Validation, as the system fails to validate the integrity and legitimacy of procedure calls before attempting to process them. The vulnerability demonstrates a classic buffer over-read or improper state handling issue where the service continues processing malformed data without proper sanitization, leading to memory corruption and system instability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can severely compromise network availability and data accessibility for organizations relying on Solaris file services. Remote attackers can exploit this weakness without requiring authentication or local access, making it particularly dangerous in networked environments where file services are exposed to external networks. The denial of service condition affects not only the specific machine running cachefsd but can also impact other systems dependent on the cached file services, potentially causing cascading failures throughout enterprise networks. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, Network Denial of Service, and represents a critical weakness in the system's resilience against remote exploitation.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including applying the relevant security patches provided by Sun Microsystems, which would include updating the cachefsd service with proper input validation mechanisms. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be configured to restrict RPC access to trusted networks only, while monitoring systems should be deployed to detect unusual RPC traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, system administrators should consider disabling the cachefsd service if it is not essential for operations, as this removes the attack surface entirely. The vulnerability highlights the importance of robust input validation in network services and demonstrates how seemingly minor implementation flaws can lead to significant operational disruptions, particularly in enterprise environments where distributed file services are critical infrastructure components.