CVE-2007-6180 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Race condition in the Remote Procedure Call kernel module (rpcmod) in Sun Solaris 8 through 10 allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL dereference and panic) via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/02/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-6180 represents a critical race condition flaw within the Remote Procedure Call kernel module rpcmod of Sun Solaris operating systems versions 8 through 10. This race condition occurs at the kernel level and manifests as a potential NULL dereference that can lead to system panic and complete denial of service conditions. The flaw exists in the fundamental communication mechanisms that enable distributed computing processes within the operating system, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by local users without requiring elevated privileges.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper synchronization mechanisms within the rpcmod kernel module. When multiple threads or processes attempt to access shared resources simultaneously, the race condition creates a window where memory pointers become invalid or NULL, leading to kernel crashes. This type of vulnerability maps directly to CWE-362, which specifically addresses race conditions in concurrent programming environments. The flaw demonstrates poor resource management and inadequate locking mechanisms that allow for unpredictable behavior when handling concurrent RPC requests.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to enterprise environments running affected Solaris versions. Local users can exploit this condition to deliberately crash system services and potentially cause complete system panics, resulting in extended downtime and service disruption. The impact extends beyond simple denial of service as system administrators may face challenges in diagnosing the root cause due to the kernel-level nature of the vulnerability. Organizations running critical infrastructure on these platforms face potential business disruption and increased operational overhead during incident response and system recovery efforts.
The mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-6180 should focus on immediate patch deployment through official Sun Microsystems updates or security bulletins. System administrators should prioritize applying the relevant security patches that address the synchronization issues within the rpcmod module. Additionally, implementing monitoring solutions to detect unusual system behavior patterns and establishing robust incident response procedures can help minimize the impact of exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation to limit local user access where possible, and regularly review system configurations to ensure that unnecessary RPC services are disabled. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499 which covers network denial of service attacks, though the specific implementation involves kernel-level exploitation rather than network-based disruption.