CVE-2007-6216 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Race condition in the Fibre Channel protocol (fcp) driver and Devices filesystem (devfs) in Sun Solaris 10 allows local users to cause a denial of service (system hang) via some programs that access hardware resources, as demonstrated by the (1) cfgadm and (2) format programs.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/02/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-6216 represents a critical race condition flaw within the Fibre Channel protocol driver and Devices filesystem implementation in Sun Solaris 10 operating systems. This issue stems from improper synchronization mechanisms during concurrent access to hardware resources, creating a window where multiple processes can interfere with each other's operations when accessing Fibre Channel devices through the devfs framework. The race condition specifically manifests when programs attempt to interact with hardware resources in a manner that exposes the underlying system to inconsistent state transitions.
The technical flaw exists in the interaction between the fcp driver responsible for Fibre Channel communications and the devfs filesystem that manages device nodes and access permissions. When programs like cfgadm and format attempt to access hardware resources, the lack of proper locking mechanisms allows for simultaneous access attempts that can result in corrupted device state information. This condition occurs because the system fails to maintain atomic operations when multiple threads or processes attempt to modify device-related data structures concurrently. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it operates at the kernel level where improper synchronization can lead to complete system instability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service to potentially causing complete system hangs that require manual intervention or reboot. Local users can exploit this condition by executing programs that access hardware resources through the affected pathways, specifically targeting the cfgadm and format utilities which are commonly used for system administration tasks. When the race condition occurs, the system becomes unresponsive as the kernel attempts to manage conflicting access requests to the Fibre Channel devices, leading to a state where normal system operations cannot proceed. This type of vulnerability directly impacts system availability and can be particularly damaging in enterprise environments where uptime is critical.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-6216 should focus on implementing proper synchronization mechanisms within the kernel drivers and filesystem implementations. System administrators should apply the appropriate security patches released by Sun Microsystems to address the race condition in both the fcp driver and devfs subsystem. The fix typically involves adding proper mutex locks or other synchronization primitives to ensure that device access operations are atomic and that concurrent access attempts do not result in system state corruption. Organizations should also consider implementing monitoring solutions to detect unusual patterns of device access that might indicate exploitation attempts. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-362, which describes "Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization" and represents a classic example of improper resource management that can lead to system instability. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation and denial of service techniques that adversaries might leverage to disrupt system operations and maintain persistent access to compromised systems.