CVE-2006-1780 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
The Bourne shell (sh) in Solaris 8, 9, and 10 allows local users to cause a denial of service (sh crash) via an unspecified attack vector that causes sh processes to crash during creation of temporary files.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/22/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-1780 represents a critical denial of service flaw within the Bourne shell implementation on Solaris operating systems versions 8, 9, and 10. This issue manifests when local attackers exploit an unspecified attack vector that results in shell processes crashing during the temporary file creation phase, effectively disrupting normal system operations and potentially providing attackers with a means to destabilize target systems. The vulnerability specifically targets the shell's handling of temporary files during process initialization, creating a scenario where legitimate system operations can be interrupted by malicious or accidental triggers.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper error handling within the shell's temporary file management subsystem. When the Bourne shell attempts to create temporary files during process initialization, certain conditions can cause the shell process to terminate unexpectedly rather than gracefully handling the error condition. This behavior aligns with CWE-248, which addresses improper exception handling, and represents a classic example of how inadequate error management can lead to system instability. The vulnerability's impact is particularly concerning because shell processes form the foundation of many system operations, making their instability potentially catastrophic for system availability.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability enables local users to systematically disrupt shell-based services and automated processes that depend on the Bourne shell for execution. The denial of service effect can manifest in various ways including preventing legitimate users from executing shell commands, disrupting scheduled tasks, and potentially affecting system administration functions that rely on shell scripting. Attackers can exploit this weakness to repeatedly crash shell processes, creating a persistent disruption that may require system restarts to resolve. The vulnerability's local nature means that attackers need only have access to the target system to exploit it, making it particularly dangerous in environments where multiple users have shell access.
The attack surface for this vulnerability extends beyond simple disruption to include potential privilege escalation scenarios, as shell crashes can sometimes be leveraged to gain additional system access or to create conditions where other vulnerabilities become exploitable. Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1499 for network disruption and T1566 for social engineering, as it can be part of broader attack campaigns aimed at system destabilization. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the relevant Solaris patches, monitoring for unusual shell process termination patterns, and ensuring that shell-based services have proper redundancy mechanisms. System administrators should also consider implementing process monitoring tools that can detect and alert on shell process crashes to provide early warning of potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper error handling in system-level components and underscores the need for comprehensive testing of shell behavior under various failure conditions.