CVE-2011-2287 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Oracle Solaris 8, 9, 10, and 11 Express allows remote attackers to affect availability via unknown vectors related to fingerd.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/12/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-2287 represents a significant security weakness in Oracle Solaris operating systems across multiple versions including Solaris 8, 9, 10, and 11 Express. This unspecified flaw resides within the fingerd service which is part of the Solaris operating system's network services. The fingerd daemon traditionally provides information about users on a system but has historically been prone to various security issues due to its network accessibility and the nature of its functionality. The vulnerability specifically impacts the availability aspect of the system's security posture, indicating that remote attackers can potentially disrupt normal operations through unspecified attack vectors related to this service.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the fingerd service implementation in Solaris versions mentioned, where unknown attack vectors allow malicious actors to compromise system availability. While the exact technical details of the vulnerability remain unspecified, fingerd services have typically been susceptible to buffer overflows, denial of service conditions, and other exploitation techniques that can cause service disruption or system instability. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability description suggests that either the precise technical mechanism has not been fully disclosed or that the vulnerability encompasses multiple potential attack paths that could be leveraged by adversaries. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of availability impacts as defined by the Common Weakness Enumeration standard, specifically relating to weaknesses that can cause system disruption or unavailability.
The operational impact of CVE-2011-2287 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the overall reliability and integrity of Solaris systems in production environments. Organizations running affected Solaris versions face risks of unauthorized disruption of network services, which could lead to broader business continuity issues. The fingerd service, being a network-accessible daemon, provides an attack surface that adversaries can exploit to cause denial of service conditions that affect system availability. These attacks could be particularly damaging in enterprise environments where system uptime and reliability are critical for business operations, potentially leading to service interruptions that affect user access and system functionality.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2011-2287 should focus on immediate remediation actions including applying Oracle's security patches and updates specifically designed to address this vulnerability. System administrators should consider disabling the fingerd service entirely if it is not required for operational purposes, as this eliminates the attack surface associated with this vulnerable component. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit exposure of affected systems to untrusted networks, aligning with defensive techniques outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework for network service exploitation. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify and remediate similar issues in other system components, particularly focusing on network services that provide user information or system details. Organizations should also implement monitoring solutions to detect unusual network activity related to fingerd service exploitation attempts and maintain updated incident response procedures for handling potential availability impacts from such vulnerabilities. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of patches in controlled environments before deployment to production systems to ensure that security updates do not introduce compatibility issues or additional system instability.