CVE-2009-2652 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Solaris Trusted Extensions in Sun Solaris 10, and OpenSolaris snv_37 through snv_120, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (panic) via vectors involving the parsing of labeled packets.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/12/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-2652 represents a critical security flaw within Solaris Trusted Extensions, a security feature designed to enforce mandatory access controls and label-based security policies. This issue affects Sun Solaris 10 operating system and various OpenSolaris builds ranging from snv_37 through snv_120, making it a widespread concern across multiple versions of the Solaris ecosystem. The vulnerability specifically targets the packet parsing mechanisms within the Trusted Extensions framework, which is responsible for handling labeled network traffic according to security policies defined by the system administrators.
The technical nature of this vulnerability lies in the improper handling of labeled network packets during the parsing process, which can lead to system instability and ultimately result in a kernel panic. This type of flaw falls under the category of improper input validation, as described by CWE-20, where the system fails to properly validate or sanitize incoming data before processing it. The parsing routine responsible for handling labeled packets appears to lack adequate bounds checking or error handling mechanisms, allowing specially crafted malicious packets to trigger unexpected behavior in the kernel space. When these malformed packets are processed, they cause the system to enter an unrecoverable state, leading to the kernel panic that terminates system operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it provides attackers with a reliable method to cause system-wide outages through remote exploitation. This denial of service attack can be particularly damaging in enterprise environments where Solaris systems serve critical infrastructure functions, as the panic condition results in complete system shutdown requiring manual intervention and reboot procedures. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries do not require physical access or local credentials to exploit this vulnerability, making it a significant concern for network administrators responsible for securing distributed systems. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability maps to the ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which involves network disruption through the use of malicious network traffic to cause system instability.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2009-2652 should focus on both immediate defensive measures and long-term architectural improvements. System administrators should apply the relevant security patches provided by Sun Microsystems as soon as they become available, which typically include fixes to the packet parsing routines within the Trusted Extensions framework. Network segmentation and filtering approaches can provide temporary protection by limiting the exposure of vulnerable systems to potentially malicious traffic, although this approach does not address the root cause of the vulnerability. The implementation of network intrusion detection systems that can identify and block suspicious packet patterns may help detect attempts to exploit this vulnerability before they succeed in causing system panics. Additionally, organizations should consider disabling Trusted Extensions if they are not actively utilizing the mandatory access control features, as this would eliminate the attack surface associated with this specific vulnerability while maintaining overall system functionality. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of robust input validation in kernel space code and serves as a reminder of the critical security implications that can arise from seemingly simple parsing operations in security-critical components.