CVE-2010-0897 in Sun Products Suite
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Sun Java System Directory Server component in Oracle Sun Product Suite 5.2, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, and 6.3.1 allows remote attackers to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability via unknown vectors related to Directory Service Markup Language.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/07/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-0897 affects the Sun Java System Directory Server component within Oracle's Sun Product Suite across multiple versions including 5.2, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, and 6.3.1. This directory server implementation serves as a critical infrastructure component for managing directory services and user authentication in enterprise environments. The affected component specifically handles Directory Service Markup Language (DSML) which is an XML-based protocol for accessing and modifying directory services. The vulnerability resides in the processing of DSML requests and represents an unspecified weakness that could potentially be exploited by remote attackers to compromise the security posture of the directory server.
The technical flaw manifests in how the Sun Java System Directory Server handles Directory Service Markup Language requests, though the exact nature of the vulnerability remains unspecified in the CVE description. This type of vulnerability typically involves improper input validation, memory handling issues, or protocol processing errors that could allow malicious actors to manipulate the server's behavior. The vulnerability's classification as affecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability indicates it represents a significant security weakness that could enable attackers to access sensitive directory information, modify directory entries, or disrupt directory service availability. Such issues often fall under CWE categories related to input validation failures, memory corruption, or protocol implementation weaknesses.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple security concerns as directory servers serve as foundational components for enterprise authentication and authorization systems. When compromised, these servers can provide attackers with access to user credentials, group memberships, and other sensitive directory information that could facilitate further attacks within the network. The ability to affect confidentiality means that attackers could extract user accounts, passwords, or other sensitive data stored in the directory service. Integrity compromise allows for modification of directory entries, potentially enabling privilege escalation or impersonation attacks. Availability disruption could render directory services inaccessible, causing widespread operational disruption across systems dependent on authentication services.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should begin with immediate patching of affected systems to the latest available versions from Oracle that address the specific DSML processing issues. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit access to directory servers, particularly restricting direct internet access to these critical components. Monitoring and logging of DSML traffic should be enhanced to detect anomalous requests that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's nature suggests that implementing strict input validation and sanitization for all DSML requests could provide additional protection layers. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive assessments of their directory service configurations to identify and remediate any unnecessary services or features that could be exploited. Given the potential for privilege escalation and widespread access, organizations should review their access control policies and ensure that directory service accounts maintain minimal necessary privileges. The vulnerability's classification aligns with ATT&CK techniques related to credential access and privilege escalation through exploitation of service vulnerabilities, emphasizing the need for comprehensive defensive measures including network monitoring, access control reviews, and regular vulnerability assessments to protect directory services from similar attacks.