CVE-2017-3578 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: RAS subsystems). 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). While the vulnerability is in Sun ZFS Storage Appliance Kit (AK), attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of Sun ZFS Storage Appliance Kit (AK). CVSS 3.0 Base Score 8.8 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/20/2020
The vulnerability described in CVE-2017-3578 resides within the Sun ZFS Storage Appliance Kit component of Oracle's Sun Systems Products Suite, specifically within the RAS (Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability) subsystems. This flaw represents a critical security weakness that affects the AK 2013 version of the storage appliance software, making it a significant concern for enterprise environments that rely on ZFS storage infrastructure. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers with minimal privileges can leverage this weakness to compromise the entire appliance system, creating a substantial risk for organizations that depend on these storage solutions for their data management and backup operations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls within the RAS subsystems of the ZFS Storage Appliance Kit, allowing a low privileged attacker who has already gained logon access to the underlying infrastructure to escalate their privileges and gain full control over the appliance. This type of vulnerability typically involves improper authorization mechanisms or weak privilege separation that enables lateral movement within the system. The CVSS 3.0 score of 8.8 demonstrates the severity of impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability aspects, indicating that successful exploitation could result in complete system compromise and potential data loss or corruption.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond the immediate ZFS Storage Appliance Kit, as attacks may significantly affect additional products within the Oracle Sun Systems Products Suite ecosystem. This cascading effect means that organizations using multiple components from Oracle's storage portfolio face increased risk, as compromising one appliance could potentially provide attackers with access to interconnected systems. The availability impact is particularly concerning for storage appliances that serve as critical infrastructure for enterprise data management, as a successful compromise could result in complete service disruption and data unavailability for business operations.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, where it aligns with techniques involving privilege escalation and lateral movement within compromised environments. The low attack complexity and low privilege requirements make this vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where physical or network access may be limited, as attackers can leverage legitimate user accounts to gain unauthorized access to critical storage infrastructure. Organizations should implement comprehensive monitoring and access control measures to detect potential exploitation attempts and ensure proper segmentation of storage appliance environments to limit the potential impact of such compromises.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate patching of affected systems, implementation of network segmentation to limit access to storage appliances, and enhanced monitoring of authentication and privilege escalation activities. The vulnerability's characteristics align with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and CWE-276 (Incorrect Default Permissions) categories, emphasizing the need for proper access control implementation and secure default configurations. Organizations should also conduct thorough security assessments of their entire Oracle Sun Systems Products Suite deployment to identify any additional vulnerabilities that may exist within the interconnected storage infrastructure, as the compromise of one component can potentially lead to broader system infiltration and data exposure across enterprise storage networks.