CVE-2017-10275 in Sun ZFS Storage Appliance Kit
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Sun ZFS Storage Appliance Kit (AK) component of Oracle Sun Systems Products Suite (subcomponent: Filesystem). The supported version that is affected is AK 2013. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with logon to the infrastructure where Sun ZFS Storage Appliance Kit (AK) executes to compromise Sun ZFS Storage Appliance Kit (AK). Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of Sun ZFS Storage Appliance Kit (AK). CVSS 3.0 Base Score 5.0 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/19/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-10275 resides within the Sun ZFS Storage Appliance Kit component of Oracle's Sun Systems Products Suite, specifically affecting the Filesystem subcomponent in version AK 2013. This represents a significant availability threat that can be exploited by attackers with low privileges who have already gained logon access to the appliance infrastructure. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that the attack vector requires minimal technical sophistication, making it particularly concerning for organizations that may not fully secure their appliance environments. The CVSS 3.0 base score of 5.0 reflects the moderate severity of the availability impact, with the vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H clearly demonstrating that the attack requires local access, low complexity, low privilege level, and human interaction to succeed.
The technical flaw manifests as a weakness that allows an attacker to cause either a hang or a frequently repeatable crash of the Sun ZFS Storage Appliance Kit, effectively resulting in a complete denial of service condition. This type of vulnerability typically stems from improper input validation or resource management issues within the filesystem implementation that can be triggered through specific sequences of operations or data inputs. The requirement for human interaction suggests that the exploitation process may involve some form of user-facing interface manipulation or specific workflow triggering that requires user participation beyond simple authentication. The vulnerability's impact on system availability represents a critical concern for storage infrastructure where continuous operation is essential for business continuity and data accessibility.
From an operational standpoint, successful exploitation of this vulnerability can result in complete system downtime for the affected ZFS Storage Appliance Kit, potentially disrupting critical data services and storage operations for organizations relying on this infrastructure. The ability to cause either a hang or repeatable crash means that the impact can be either temporary or persistent, depending on the specific exploitation method used and the system's recovery mechanisms. Organizations may experience significant operational disruption including data access delays, backup failures, and potential data loss if the appliance remains unavailable for extended periods. The vulnerability's characteristics also suggest that it could be used as part of broader attack campaigns targeting storage infrastructure, potentially as a stepping stone for more extensive system compromise or as a method to disrupt business operations through service degradation.
The remediation approach for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of the affected Sun ZFS Storage Appliance Kit version 2013 to address the underlying filesystem flaw that enables the denial of service condition. Organizations should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit local administrative access to these appliances, reducing the attack surface for potential exploitation. Monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns of system behavior that might indicate attempted exploitation of this vulnerability, including monitoring for repeated system restarts or abnormal resource consumption patterns. Security teams should also consider implementing regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing focused on storage infrastructure to identify similar weaknesses in other components of their storage ecosystem. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-119, which covers "Improper Access to Resources via String Manipulation" and potentially CWE-400, which addresses "Uncontrolled Resource Consumption" as the exploitation results in resource exhaustion or system instability. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability relates to T1499.004, "Storage Exhaustion Flood," and T1566.001, "Phishing," as human interaction is required for successful exploitation, indicating potential social engineering components that could be leveraged in broader attack campaigns.