CVE-2003-1072 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Memory leak in lofiadm in Solaris 8 allows local users to cause a denial of service (kernel memory consumption).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/27/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2003-1072 represents a critical memory management flaw within the Solaris 8 operating system's lofiadm utility. This issue manifests as a memory leak in the logical file system administration tool, which is responsible for managing loopback filesystems that allow users to mount filesystems from regular files. The lofiadm utility operates at the kernel level and provides administrative functions for creating, managing, and destroying loopback filesystems that are essential for various system operations including software installation, backup procedures, and virtual filesystem management.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper memory deallocation within the lofiadm utility's kernel components. When local users interact with the lofiadm tool to perform operations such as mounting or unmounting loopback filesystems, the utility fails to properly release allocated kernel memory resources during certain error conditions or normal operation sequences. This memory leak occurs in the kernel space where the lofiadm utility executes, meaning that each invocation of the utility consumes additional kernel memory that is not subsequently freed. The flaw is particularly concerning because it operates within the privileged kernel context, allowing local users to manipulate system resources that would normally be protected from user-space interference.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple resource exhaustion, creating a persistent threat to system stability and availability. As the memory leak accumulates over time, it leads to progressive kernel memory consumption that can eventually result in system instability, performance degradation, or complete system crashes. Local users can exploit this vulnerability by repeatedly invoking the lofiadm utility with specific parameters that trigger the memory leak condition, making it particularly dangerous in multi-user environments where malicious users might deliberately consume system resources. The denial of service condition manifests as reduced system responsiveness, increased memory pressure, and potentially complete system unresponsiveness as kernel memory becomes exhausted.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-401, which specifically addresses improper release of memory, and represents a classic example of a resource leak that can be exploited for denial of service attacks. The issue demonstrates how seemingly benign administrative utilities can become attack vectors when memory management is not properly implemented. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under privilege escalation and denial of service tactics, as local users can leverage it to consume system resources and potentially gain elevated privileges through system instability. Organizations should note that this vulnerability represents a fundamental flaw in the kernel memory management of Solaris 8 systems, making it particularly challenging to mitigate without system updates or patches. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper memory management practices in kernel-space code and underscores the need for comprehensive security testing of system utilities that operate with elevated privileges. Mitigation strategies should include immediate patch deployment, system monitoring for abnormal memory consumption patterns, and implementation of access controls to limit local user privileges that can interact with kernel-level utilities.