CVE-2003-1071 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
rpc.walld (wall daemon) for Solaris 2.6 through 9 allows local users to send messages to logged on users that appear to come from arbitrary user IDs by closing stderr before executing wall, then supplying a spoofed from header.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/22/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2003-1071 affects the rpc.walld daemon component in Solaris operating systems versions 2.6 through 9, representing a significant security flaw in the system's user communication mechanisms. This issue specifically targets the wall daemon which is responsible for broadcasting messages to all logged-in users on a system. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of user authentication and message source verification within the daemon's execution flow, creating a pathway for local privilege escalation and user impersonation attacks.
The technical flaw manifests when the rpc.walld daemon closes the standard error stream before executing the wall command, allowing malicious local users to manipulate the message header information. By closing stderr and then supplying a spoofed from header, attackers can craft messages that appear to originate from any user ID, including privileged accounts. This manipulation exploits the daemon's failure to properly validate the source of incoming messages, effectively bypassing the system's built-in authentication mechanisms for user-to-user communication. The vulnerability operates at the system level, leveraging the daemon's trust relationship with the local user environment to forge legitimate-looking system messages.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple message spoofing, as it enables malicious users to potentially deceive other logged-in users into believing they are receiving communications from trusted sources. This could facilitate social engineering attacks where users might be tricked into executing malicious commands or revealing sensitive information. The vulnerability affects local users who have access to the system, making it particularly dangerous in multi-user environments where proper access controls may not be fully enforced. Security researchers have classified this issue as a privilege escalation vulnerability, as it allows users to effectively impersonate other users within the system's communication framework.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and CWE-352 (Cross-Site Request Forgery) categories, as it represents a failure in access control mechanisms and allows unauthorized message manipulation. The ATT&CK framework would categorize this under T1068 (Exploitation for Privilege Escalation) and potentially T1566 (Phishing for Information) when combined with social engineering techniques. Organizations running affected Solaris versions should implement immediate mitigations including patching the system with the appropriate security updates, restricting access to the rpc.walld daemon, and monitoring for suspicious message patterns. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and authentication mechanisms in system daemons, particularly those handling user communication functions. System administrators should also consider implementing additional logging and monitoring controls to detect unauthorized message manipulation attempts and establish proper user access controls to limit potential exploitation of this vulnerability.