CVE-2017-10042 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Solaris component of Oracle Sun Systems Products Suite (subcomponent: IKE). Supported versions that are affected are 10 and 11. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via IKE to compromise Solaris. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of Solaris. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 7.5 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/03/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-10042 resides within the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) implementation of Oracle Solaris operating systems, specifically affecting versions 10 and 11. This issue represents a critical availability threat that can be exploited by unauthenticated remote attackers without requiring any privileged access or user interaction. The vulnerability manifests in the IKE daemon's handling of malformed or specially crafted network packets, creating a condition where the system becomes susceptible to denial of service attacks that can either cause system hangs or frequent crashes, effectively rendering the affected Solaris systems unavailable to legitimate users.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate input validation within the IKE protocol processing module of the Solaris kernel. When the IKE daemon receives malformed packets or packets containing unexpected data structures, it fails to properly validate the incoming information before processing. This validation gap allows attackers to craft specific packet sequences that trigger memory corruption or state machine failures within the IKE implementation. The vulnerability operates at the network layer where IKE protocol messages are exchanged for establishing secure communication channels, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited during normal network operations without requiring any authentication credentials. This weakness aligns with CWE-129, which describes improper validation of input boundaries, and represents a classic example of how protocol implementation flaws can lead to system instability and denial of service conditions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can result in complete system unavailability that affects critical infrastructure operations. Organizations running Solaris systems may experience unexpected downtime, particularly in environments where IKE is actively used for VPN connections, network authentication, or secure communications. The vulnerability's CVSS 3.0 score of 7.5 indicates a high severity level, with the availability impact being the primary concern. Attackers can repeatedly exploit this flaw to maintain persistent denial of service conditions, making it particularly dangerous for mission-critical systems. The vulnerability also poses risks to network infrastructure as it can be used to disrupt communication channels between different network segments, potentially affecting larger network operations and services that depend on secure IKE-based communications.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-10042 should prioritize immediate patch application from Oracle, which provides specific security updates addressing the IKE implementation flaws. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure to the vulnerability, particularly by restricting IKE traffic to trusted networks and implementing firewall rules that filter malformed packets. Network monitoring solutions should be configured to detect unusual IKE traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, and intrusion detection systems should be tuned to identify potential exploitation signatures. Additionally, system administrators should consider disabling IKE services when not required, and implement proper network access controls to prevent unauthorized access to systems that may be vulnerable to this attack vector. The vulnerability's classification under the ATT&CK framework would fall under the T1499.004 technique for network denial of service, and organizations should maintain incident response procedures specifically designed to handle such availability-focused attacks.