CVE-2010-3503 in OpenSolaris
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Oracle Solaris 10 and OpenSolaris allows local users to affect confidentiality and integrity via unknown vectors related to su.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/20/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-3503 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle Solaris 10 and OpenSolaris operating systems that enables local attackers to compromise both confidentiality and integrity of system resources. This issue specifically relates to the su command functionality, which is fundamental to Unix-like operating systems for switching user identities. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability vectors suggests that the flaw may involve multiple attack surfaces or implementation weaknesses within the privilege escalation mechanisms that the su command employs. The vulnerability's classification as local indicates that exploitation requires prior access to the system, typically through a user account or session, making it particularly concerning for environments where privilege separation is critical.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of user privileges and authentication contexts within the su command execution flow. When users attempt to switch identities using su, the system must validate credentials and properly manage the transition between user contexts. This flaw likely involves insufficient input validation, improper privilege checks, or inadequate access control mechanisms that allow malicious users to manipulate the command execution environment. The vulnerability may involve buffer overflows, improper file permissions, or race conditions during the privilege escalation process that enable attackers to bypass security controls. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability likely maps to CWE-264, which covers permissions, privileges, and access control issues, or potentially CWE-20, which addresses input validation problems in command execution contexts.
The operational impact of CVE-2010-3503 extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it compromises fundamental security assurances within the Solaris environment. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can potentially gain elevated privileges to perform unauthorized actions including data theft, system modification, or persistence mechanisms. The confidentiality aspect indicates that attackers may be able to access restricted information or files that should be protected from unauthorized access, while the integrity compromise suggests they can modify system files, configuration settings, or data in ways that could destabilize the operating system. This vulnerability particularly affects multi-user environments where users may need to switch between different privilege levels for legitimate administrative tasks, creating an attack surface that could be exploited for lateral movement or persistent access.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching and system updates from Oracle, as the flaw represents a core component of the operating system's security architecture. System administrators should implement comprehensive monitoring of su command usage and privilege escalation attempts to detect potential exploitation attempts. The principle of least privilege should be enforced more rigorously, limiting the number of users who have access to su functionality and implementing additional authentication controls. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to reduce the attack surface, while regular security audits should verify that privilege escalation mechanisms function correctly. Organizations should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify unusual su command patterns or privilege escalation activities that may indicate exploitation attempts. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques under T1068, which involves the use of legitimate credentials and system tools for unauthorized access, and potentially T1548.1 which covers abuse of sudo or su commands for privilege escalation purposes. The vulnerability's impact aligns with the broader category of credential access and privilege escalation attacks that target fundamental operating system components, making it a high-priority issue for enterprise security teams.