CVE-2002-0797 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in the MIB parsing component of mibiisa for Solaris 5.6 through 8 allows remote attackers to gain root privileges.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/13/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-0797 represents a critical buffer overflow condition within the Management Information Base (MIB) parsing functionality of the mibiisa component in Solaris operating systems versions 5.6 through 8. This flaw exists in the way the system processes Management Information Base data structures, which are fundamental to network management protocols such as SNMP. The vulnerability falls under CWE-121, which specifically addresses stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers privilege escalation through local system exploitation. The mibiisa component serves as a crucial interface for handling SNMP management information, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to compromise system integrity.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking during the parsing of MIB data structures within the Solaris environment. When the mibiisa component receives malformed or oversized MIB input, it fails to properly validate the data length before copying it into fixed-size buffers. This allows an attacker to overwrite adjacent memory locations, potentially including return addresses and control data, enabling arbitrary code execution. The flaw specifically manifests when processing certain SNMP MIB structures that contain oversized or malformed data fields, which can be crafted to exceed buffer capacity and trigger the overflow condition. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates within the context of the system's network management services, which often run with elevated privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple denial of service conditions, as it provides remote attackers with the capability to achieve complete system compromise and root privileges. Successful exploitation enables attackers to execute arbitrary code with the highest system privileges, effectively granting them unrestricted access to all system resources, files, and network interfaces. This represents a severe privilege escalation vulnerability that can be exploited across network boundaries without requiring authentication, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where Solaris systems are commonly deployed. The vulnerability affects systems running Solaris 5.6 through 8, which were widely used in enterprise network infrastructure during the early 2000s, potentially exposing numerous production environments to compromise.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2002-0797 should focus on immediate patch deployment and system hardening measures. Oracle released security patches for affected Solaris versions that addressed the buffer overflow condition through proper input validation and bounds checking mechanisms. Organizations should prioritize applying these patches to all affected systems, particularly those running network management services. Additional defensive measures include implementing network segmentation to limit access to SNMP services, configuring firewall rules to restrict SNMP traffic to trusted sources, and disabling unnecessary MIB parsing functionality when not required. System administrators should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious SNMP traffic patterns and establish regular security audits to verify patch compliance. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation in system components that process external data, reinforcing the principles outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity frameworks for preventing buffer overflow exploits.