CVE-2012-3199 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Oracle Sun Solaris 10 and 11 allows local users to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability via unknown vectors related to Gnome Trusted Extension.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/18/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-3199 resides within Oracle Sun Solaris operating systems version 10 and 11, specifically affecting the Gnome Trusted Extension component. This unspecified weakness represents a critical security flaw that enables local attackers to compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of affected systems through mechanisms that remain undisclosed in the public vulnerability database. The Gnome Trusted Extension serves as a crucial component within the Solaris desktop environment, facilitating secure authentication and trusted computing functionalities that are essential for maintaining system security boundaries.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the Gnome Trusted Extension's handling of authentication and trust relationships within the Solaris environment, creating potential attack vectors that could be exploited by locally authenticated users. These attack surfaces typically involve privilege escalation scenarios where malicious actors can manipulate the extension's behavior to gain unauthorized access to system resources or manipulate security controls. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability vectors suggests that the underlying flaw may involve improper validation of user inputs, insecure handling of cryptographic operations, or flawed implementation of trust verification mechanisms within the extension's codebase. Such weaknesses fall under the broader category of software security flaws that can be classified as CWE-254, representing security weaknesses that create opportunities for attackers to compromise system integrity.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-3199 extends beyond simple data exposure or system disruption, as it potentially allows attackers to establish persistent access to affected systems while undermining the fundamental security assumptions of the Gnome Trusted Extension. Local users who can leverage this vulnerability may gain elevated privileges, access sensitive system files, or manipulate authentication processes that are critical for maintaining system security. The availability impact could manifest through system instability or denial of service conditions that occur when the vulnerable extension fails to properly validate inputs or maintain secure state management. This vulnerability particularly affects enterprise environments where Solaris systems are deployed with Gnome desktop environments, creating potential risks for organizations that rely on these trusted computing extensions for secure authentication processes.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including applying the relevant Oracle security patches and updates that address the Gnome Trusted Extension vulnerability. System administrators should conduct comprehensive assessments of their Solaris environments to identify systems running affected Gnome extensions and evaluate the attack surface presented by local user access. The mitigation approach should align with ATT&CK framework tactics such as privilege escalation and defense evasion, as attackers may attempt to use this vulnerability to establish persistence or avoid detection mechanisms. Additionally, security monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous authentication patterns or unauthorized access attempts that could indicate exploitation of this vulnerability. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be performed to ensure that all components of the Solaris desktop environment remain secure against similar threats that may exploit similar trust relationships and authentication mechanisms.