CVE-2015-4770 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Oracle Sun Solaris 10 and 11.2 allows local users to affect availability via vectors related to UNIX filesystem.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/03/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-4770 represents a significant security flaw within Oracle Sun Solaris operating systems, specifically affecting versions 10 and 11.2. This issue resides within the UNIX filesystem implementation and constitutes a local privilege escalation vulnerability that could potentially compromise system availability. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability description indicates that the exact technical mechanism remains classified, though the impact clearly demonstrates a critical weakness in the system's file handling capabilities. Such vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous as they can be exploited by malicious users who already have access to the system, potentially leading to complete system compromise or denial of service conditions.
The technical flaw manifests within the UNIX filesystem subsystem where local users can manipulate file system operations to cause system instability or complete system failure. This type of vulnerability typically involves improper handling of file system calls or insufficient validation of file operations that could lead to buffer overflows, race conditions, or improper resource management. The vulnerability's classification as affecting availability suggests that exploitation could result in system crashes, service disruption, or complete system lockups that would prevent legitimate users from accessing system resources. The attack vector is specifically tied to UNIX filesystem operations, indicating that the flaw likely involves file creation, modification, deletion, or access permissions within the system's file hierarchy.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents a severe risk to enterprise environments running Oracle Sun Solaris systems, particularly in mission-critical applications where system availability is paramount. Local users with minimal privileges could potentially cause catastrophic system failures, leading to data loss, service interruptions, and financial consequences for organizations relying on these systems. The vulnerability's presence in both Solaris 10 and 11.2 versions indicates a widespread impact across multiple system generations, requiring comprehensive patch management strategies. Organizations utilizing these operating systems face potential exposure to insider threats or compromised accounts that could exploit this weakness to cause significant operational disruption.
Security mitigations for CVE-2015-4770 should prioritize immediate patch deployment from Oracle, as the vulnerability affects core system components that cannot be adequately protected through configuration changes alone. System administrators should implement comprehensive monitoring of file system operations and access patterns to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-119 which describes weaknesses in memory handling that could lead to availability impacts, and may correlate with ATT&CK techniques involving privilege escalation and denial of service. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as mandatory access controls, file integrity monitoring, and regular system audits to prevent unauthorized exploitation. Due to the local nature of the vulnerability, user access controls and privilege management should be reviewed to minimize potential attack surfaces, while network segmentation can help contain potential impacts if exploitation occurs.