CVE-2004-1358 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
The patches (1) 114332-08 and (2) 114929-06 for Sun Solaris 9 disable the auditing functionality of the Basic Security Module (BSM), which allows attackers to avoid having their activity logged.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/02/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2004-1358 represents a critical security flaw in Sun Solaris 9 operating systems where specific patches inadvertently disable the Basic Security Module auditing functionality. This issue arises from the interaction between two patches numbered 114332-08 and 114929-06, which were designed to address other security concerns but have the unintended consequence of compromising the system's audit capabilities. The Basic Security Module serves as a fundamental component for tracking and logging security-relevant events within the Solaris operating system, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations relying on comprehensive audit trails for security monitoring and compliance purposes.
The technical flaw manifests in the way these patches modify the BSM configuration and operational parameters, effectively rendering the auditing subsystem non-functional or significantly reduced in its ability to record user activities, system events, and security-relevant operations. When auditing is disabled or compromised, malicious actors can operate within the system without leaving detectable traces in the security logs, undermining the principle of accountability and making it extremely difficult for security administrators to identify unauthorized access attempts, privilege escalation activities, or other suspicious behaviors. This vulnerability directly impacts the integrity of the system's security monitoring infrastructure and creates a blind spot for incident response and forensic analysis capabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond immediate security concerns to encompass broader compliance and operational risk implications. Organizations using affected Solaris 9 systems may find their security monitoring capabilities severely compromised, potentially violating regulatory requirements that mandate comprehensive audit logging for financial institutions, government agencies, and other regulated entities. The ability to avoid detection becomes particularly dangerous in environments where privileged accounts are targeted, as attackers can execute malicious activities without triggering audit alerts that would normally notify security personnel of suspicious behavior. This vulnerability also undermines the effectiveness of security information and event management systems that depend on complete audit data for correlation and threat detection.
Security professionals should prioritize immediate remediation of this vulnerability through proper patch management procedures that ensure the patches are applied correctly without inadvertently disabling audit functionality. The mitigation approach involves verifying that the BSM auditing subsystem remains active after patch installation and implementing additional monitoring controls to detect potential bypass attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing alternative logging mechanisms and enhanced intrusion detection systems to compensate for the reduced audit capabilities. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability enables techniques such as privilege escalation and defense evasion by allowing adversaries to operate without leaving forensic traces, while CWE classification would typically fall under CWE-117 for improper output neutralization for logs and CWE-276 for incorrect permissions for creating files. The vulnerability underscores the importance of thorough testing and validation of security patches before deployment in production environments to prevent unintended security regressions that could compromise system integrity and auditability.