CVE-2011-2289 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Oracle Solaris 10 allows local users to affect integrity and availability via unknown vectors related to LiveUpgrade.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/12/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-2289 resides within Oracle Solaris 10 operating system and represents a significant security weakness affecting the LiveUpgrade feature. This unspecified flaw within the LiveUpgrade component creates potential pathways for local attackers to compromise system integrity and availability. The vulnerability specifically targets the system's ability to perform live upgrades while maintaining system stability and data consistency. LiveUpgrade functionality in Solaris 10 enables administrators to upgrade system software without requiring system downtime, making it a critical component for maintaining service availability in enterprise environments. However, this vulnerability undermines the security posture of systems relying on LiveUpgrade for their operational continuity.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation mechanisms within the LiveUpgrade implementation that processes system upgrade operations. Local users with access to the system can exploit this weakness through unspecified attack vectors that likely involve manipulating upgrade processes or system states during the upgrade procedure. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it affects the fundamental integrity of system software and the availability of services during upgrade operations. This weakness allows attackers to potentially corrupt upgrade processes, cause system instability, or disrupt normal operations while the system attempts to perform LiveUpgrade functions. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests multiple potential exploitation pathways that could involve race conditions, improper state management, or inadequate input validation during upgrade procedures.
The operational impact of CVE-2011-2289 poses serious risks to enterprise environments running Oracle Solaris 10 systems. Organizations relying on LiveUpgrade for their maintenance procedures face potential service disruptions, data integrity issues, and system availability problems. The vulnerability particularly affects systems where LiveUpgrade is actively used for patching or upgrading critical infrastructure components. Attackers exploiting this weakness could cause system crashes, partial upgrades, or complete upgrade failures that leave systems in inconsistent states. This vulnerability directly conflicts with the security principles outlined in the Common Weakness Enumeration framework where such issues would typically be classified under CWE-284 for improper access control or CWE-362 for race conditions. The implications extend to the broader attack surface as local users with minimal privileges can potentially cause significant damage to system availability and data integrity.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate attention from system administrators and security teams. The primary recommendation involves applying the official Oracle security patches released for Solaris 10 systems to address the specific LiveUpgrade weakness. Organizations should also implement additional security controls such as restricting local user access to upgrade functionality and monitoring upgrade processes for anomalous behavior. System hardening practices including disabling LiveUpgrade functionality when not actively required can provide additional protection layers. Security teams should establish monitoring procedures to detect potential exploitation attempts targeting the LiveUpgrade component. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK framework would likely fall under privilege escalation techniques or system service manipulation, requiring defensive measures that align with enterprise security policies and incident response protocols. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should include verification of LiveUpgrade configurations to ensure proper implementation of security controls.