CVE-2011-1373 in DB2
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in IBM DB2 9.7 before FP5 on UNIX, when the Self Tuning Memory Manager (STMM) feature and the AUTOMATIC DATABASE_MEMORY setting are configured, allows local users to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/26/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-1373 represents a critical denial of service weakness within IBM DB2 9.7 database management system prior to fix pack 5. This issue specifically manifests when the Self Tuning Memory Manager feature is enabled alongside the AUTOMATIC DATABASE_MEMORY configuration setting on unix operating systems. The vulnerability falls under the category of unspecified attack vectors, indicating that the precise technical mechanisms triggering the daemon crash remain undocumented in the public disclosure. This particular weakness demonstrates a fundamental flaw in the database system's memory management and resource allocation processes when these specific configuration parameters are combined.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the interaction between IBM DB2's Self Tuning Memory Manager and its automatic database memory allocation feature. When these components operate concurrently, they create a scenario where certain memory management operations can trigger a catastrophic failure in the database daemon process. The flaw likely resides in how the system handles memory allocation requests or memory pool management when both features are active simultaneously. This creates an exploitable condition where local users can manipulate system resources to force an unintended daemon termination, effectively bringing database services to a complete halt. The vulnerability's classification as a local privilege escalation issue suggests that attackers need only local system access to exploit this weakness, making it particularly dangerous in environments where local user access cannot be strictly controlled.
The operational impact of CVE-2011-1373 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise business continuity and data availability. Database daemon crashes can result in immediate unavailability of critical applications that depend on IBM DB2 for data operations, leading to significant financial losses and operational downtime. Organizations running IBM DB2 9.7 without the proper fix pack may experience unexpected service interruptions, particularly during peak usage periods when memory management decisions are most frequent. The vulnerability's potential for repeated exploitation means that once discovered, it could be leveraged by malicious actors to repeatedly disrupt database services, making it a persistent threat to system reliability. This type of vulnerability also indicates deeper architectural issues in how IBM DB2 handles concurrent memory management features, suggesting that similar weaknesses might exist in other combinations of system parameters.
The remediation strategy for this vulnerability requires immediate implementation of IBM's fix pack 5 for DB2 9.7, which addresses the specific memory management conflict between STMM and AUTOMATIC_DATABASE_MEMORY settings. System administrators should conduct thorough testing of the fix pack in non-production environments before deployment to ensure compatibility with existing database configurations. Additionally, organizations should consider temporarily disabling either the Self Tuning Memory Manager feature or the AUTOMATIC_DATABASE_MEMORY setting if immediate patching is not feasible. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-119 which addresses memory corruption issues, and relates to ATT&CK technique T1499 which covers network denial of service attacks. Organizations should also implement monitoring solutions to detect unusual daemon restart patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, and maintain comprehensive backup and recovery procedures to minimize impact from potential service disruptions.