CVE-2013-5876 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Oracle Solaris 10 and 11.1 allows local users to affect availability via unknown vectors related to Kernel.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/07/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-5876 represents a significant security weakness within Oracle Solaris operating systems, specifically affecting versions 10 and 11.1. This issue resides within the kernel component of the operating system, making it particularly dangerous as kernel-level vulnerabilities can have far-reaching consequences for system integrity and availability. The unspecified nature of the exact vector makes this vulnerability particularly concerning for security professionals who must plan defenses without complete information about how the flaw can be exploited. Such vulnerabilities in kernel space typically provide attackers with elevated privileges and access to critical system resources that would otherwise remain protected.
The technical flaw associated with CVE-2013-5876 manifests as a weakness that allows local users to compromise system availability through mechanisms that are not fully documented in the initial vulnerability report. This suggests that the vulnerability may involve improper handling of system resources, memory management issues, or potential race conditions within kernel processes. As a local privilege escalation vulnerability, it enables users who already have access to the system to potentially gain further privileges or cause system instability. The kernel is the core component that manages system resources and provides services to applications, so any weakness in this area can lead to complete system compromise or denial of service conditions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple availability concerns, as local users who exploit this weakness could potentially cause system crashes, data corruption, or unauthorized access to sensitive system information. The fact that this affects both Solaris 10 and 11.1 indicates a widespread issue that would impact organizations using these operating systems across various deployment environments. System administrators would need to implement immediate mitigation strategies while awaiting official patches, as the vulnerability could be leveraged to create persistent threats or to escalate privileges within the system. The availability impact suggests that attackers could potentially cause system downtime or resource exhaustion, making this a critical concern for enterprise environments where system reliability is paramount.
Organizations should implement comprehensive mitigation strategies that include applying official Oracle patches as soon as they become available, monitoring system logs for unusual activity patterns, and implementing strict access controls to limit local user privileges. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-119 which addresses weaknesses in memory management, and may also relate to ATT&CK techniques involving privilege escalation and defense evasion. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of their Solaris environments and consider implementing additional monitoring solutions to detect potential exploitation attempts. Given that this vulnerability affects kernel components, organizations may need to consider more robust system hardening measures and regular security audits to identify and remediate similar issues before they can be exploited by malicious actors.