CVE-2016-0535 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Oracle Sun Solaris 10 and 11 allows remote attackers to affect availability via vectors related to RPC.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/05/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0535 represents a significant security flaw within Oracle Sun Solaris operating systems affecting versions 10 and 11. This issue resides within the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) subsystem which serves as a fundamental component for distributed computing operations across networked systems. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability description indicates that the exact technical mechanism remains undisclosed, though the classification suggests a critical weakness that could be exploited by remote attackers without requiring authentication or elevated privileges. The RPC service in Solaris systems enables applications to execute procedures on remote machines seamlessly, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to disrupt system availability and compromise network services.
The technical flaw manifests within the RPC implementation where attackers can leverage specific vectors to cause system instability or complete service disruption. This vulnerability falls under the broader category of availability attacks that target the fundamental operational integrity of system services. The RPC subsystem in Solaris handles multiple protocols including NIS, NIS+, and other distributed services that rely on remote procedure calls for communication between system components. When exploited, this vulnerability can lead to denial of service conditions where legitimate users cannot access critical services or applications that depend on RPC functionality. The attack vector typically involves sending malformed or specially crafted RPC requests that trigger buffer overflows, memory corruption, or other exploitable conditions within the RPC processing code.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-0535 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the entire system availability and reliability. Organizations running Solaris 10 and 11 systems face significant risks including complete service outages, data access interruptions, and potential cascading failures across networked applications that depend on RPC services. This vulnerability particularly affects enterprise environments where Solaris systems often serve as critical infrastructure components for directory services, network authentication, and distributed application execution. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries can exploit this weakness from outside the network perimeter, making it especially dangerous for systems with exposed RPC services. Such attacks can result in substantial business disruption, compliance violations, and potential financial losses due to extended downtime and incident response activities.
Security professionals should implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate the risks associated with this vulnerability. The primary recommendation involves applying the official Oracle security patches and updates that address the RPC implementation flaws within affected Solaris versions. System administrators should also consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of RPC services to trusted networks only. Monitoring and logging of RPC traffic can help detect anomalous patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify all systems running affected Solaris versions and prioritize patching efforts based on risk assessment. The vulnerability aligns with attack patterns documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the service stoppage and availability compromise techniques, specifically targeting the persistence and privilege escalation capabilities of remote attackers. Organizations should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems capable of identifying RPC-based attack signatures and establishing incident response procedures to quickly address exploitation attempts. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and the potential consequences of running legacy operating systems without proper security maintenance.