CVE-2011-0846 in Sun Java System Access Manager Policy Agent
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Oracle Sun Java System Access Manager Policy Agent 2.2 allows remote attackers to affect availability via unknown vectors related to Web Proxy Agent.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/03/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-0846 resides within the Oracle Sun Java System Access Manager Policy Agent 2.2, specifically impacting the Web Proxy Agent component. This weakness represents a significant security concern as it affects the availability aspect of the system's security infrastructure. The vulnerability's classification as unspecified indicates that the exact technical mechanism remains undisclosed, which is common in early vulnerability reporting phases. The affected component operates as a policy agent that enforces access control decisions within enterprise security frameworks, making it a critical element in maintaining organizational security boundaries. The Web Proxy Agent functionality specifically handles authentication and authorization decisions for proxy server interactions, which are fundamental to enterprise network security architectures.
The technical nature of this vulnerability suggests an issue within the processing of proxy-related requests or communications that could potentially disrupt service availability. This type of vulnerability typically stems from inadequate input validation, improper resource management, or flawed error handling within the proxy agent's code execution paths. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability vectors indicates that attackers could exploit multiple potential attack surfaces related to proxy processing, including malformed requests, unexpected data patterns, or resource exhaustion scenarios. Such vulnerabilities often map to common weakness enumerations like CWE-119 for memory corruption issues or CWE-400 for resource management problems. The impact on availability means that successful exploitation could result in denial of service conditions where legitimate users cannot access proxy-protected resources or the proxy service itself becomes unresponsive.
From an operational perspective, the vulnerability poses serious risks to enterprise security infrastructure as the policy agent serves as a critical enforcement point for access control policies. Organizations relying on this system would face potential disruption of their security controls, potentially allowing unauthorized access to protected resources or complete service outages. The remote nature of the attack vector means that adversaries could exploit this weakness from external networks without requiring physical access or local privileges, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous. The impact extends beyond immediate service disruption to potential compromise of security policies and access control mechanisms that organizations depend upon for protecting sensitive data and systems. This vulnerability would likely require immediate attention from security teams to assess exposure and implement appropriate mitigations.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching from Oracle, as the vendor would have developed a fix for the specific weakness in the Web Proxy Agent component. Organizations should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify systems running the affected policy agent version and implement network segmentation to limit exposure. Monitoring for unusual proxy traffic patterns or service disruptions would help detect exploitation attempts. The implementation of additional security controls such as intrusion detection systems and network access controls can provide defense in depth. Organizations should also review their access control policies and ensure proper logging and monitoring capabilities are in place to detect potential exploitation attempts. Given the availability impact, redundancy measures and failover mechanisms should be considered to maintain business continuity. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499 for network denial of service attacks and may relate to T1071 for application layer protocols, emphasizing the need for comprehensive defensive measures across multiple security domains.