CVE-2017-3632 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Solaris component of Oracle Sun Systems Products Suite (subcomponent: CDE Calendar). Supported versions that are affected are 10 and 11. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via TCP to compromise Solaris. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of Solaris. Note: CVE-2017-3632 is assigned to the "EASYSTREET" vulnerability. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 9.8 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/03/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-3632 represents a critical security flaw within the Common Desktop Environment (CDE) Calendar component of Oracle Solaris operating systems. This vulnerability specifically affects Solaris versions 10 and 11, making it a widespread concern for organizations running these legacy systems. The flaw exists within the CDE subsystem which provides desktop environment functionality including calendar management capabilities, and has been categorized under the broader "EASYSTREET" vulnerability designation that highlights its exploitable nature and potential impact on system integrity.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and improper handling of user-supplied data within the CDE Calendar application. Attackers can exploit this weakness through unauthenticated network connections via TCP ports, eliminating the need for prior system access or credentials. The vulnerability allows for arbitrary code execution within the context of the affected Solaris system, providing attackers with complete control over the compromised machine. This type of flaw typically manifests as buffer overflow conditions or memory corruption issues that occur when processing malformed calendar data or command sequences.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-3632 is severe and potentially catastrophic for affected organizations. Successful exploitation results in full system compromise, enabling attackers to execute commands with root privileges and gain complete administrative control over the Solaris systems. This level of access allows threat actors to establish persistent backdoors, exfiltrate sensitive data, modify system configurations, and potentially use compromised systems as launching points for further attacks within network environments. The CVSS 3.0 score of 9.8 reflects the high severity and the combination of confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts that this vulnerability can cause. Organizations running affected Solaris versions face significant risk of data breaches, system outages, and potential regulatory compliance violations.
Security professionals should immediately implement mitigations including applying Oracle's official patches and updates to address the vulnerability. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to restrict access to CDE services where possible, particularly blocking unnecessary TCP connections to affected ports. System administrators should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of affected Solaris versions and ensure proper monitoring for exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK techniques related to privilege escalation and remote code execution, specifically mapping to tactics such as TA0002 (Execution) and TA0004 (Privilege Escalation) within the MITRE ATT&CK framework. Organizations should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious network activity that might indicate exploitation attempts against this vulnerability, as the ease of exploitation makes it a prime target for automated attack tools.