CVE-2018-11071 in Isilon OneFS
Summary
by MITRE
Dell EMC Isilon OneFS versions 7.1.1.x, 7.2.1.x, 8.0.0.x, 8.0.1.x, 8.1.0.x and 8.1.x prior to 8.1.2 and Dell EMC IsilonSD Edge versions 8.0.0.x, 8.0.1.x, 8.1.0.x and 8.1.x prior to 8.1.2 contain a remote process crash vulnerability. An unauthenticated remote attacker may potentially exploit this vulnerability to crash the isi_drive_d process by sending specially crafted input data to the affected system. This process will then be restarted.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/16/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-11071 affects Dell EMC Isilon OneFS and IsilonSD Edge storage systems, representing a critical remote process crash flaw that can be exploited without authentication. This vulnerability resides within the isi_drive_d process, which is responsible for drive management operations within the Isilon storage environment. The flaw manifests when specially crafted input data is sent to the affected system, causing the isi_drive_d process to terminate unexpectedly and subsequently restart automatically. This process crash vulnerability directly impacts the stability and availability of storage services, potentially disrupting data access and storage operations across the affected systems.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within the isi_drive_d process, which fails to properly sanitize or validate incoming data streams. This weakness allows an attacker to craft malicious payloads that, when processed by the system, trigger an abrupt termination of the targeted process. The process restart mechanism, while designed to maintain system availability, creates a potential denial of service condition where repeated exploitation could lead to sustained service disruption. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which describes improper input validation, and represents a classic example of a buffer overflow or input handling flaw that can be exploited remotely. The vulnerability's impact is particularly concerning given that it affects multiple versions of the Isilon platform, spanning from version 7.1.1 through 8.1.1, indicating a widespread exposure across the product line.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to enterprise storage environments where data availability and system stability are paramount. The remote exploit capability means that attackers can potentially disrupt storage services from outside the network perimeter without requiring any authentication credentials. The automatic restart of the isi_drive_d process, while designed as a recovery mechanism, may not adequately address the underlying security concerns and could be exploited to create persistent availability issues. The vulnerability affects critical storage operations including drive management, data integrity checks, and system monitoring functions, potentially leading to data access delays or complete service outages. Organizations utilizing these storage systems face the risk of unauthorized disruption to their storage infrastructure, which could impact business continuity and data availability.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates that address the input validation flaws in the isi_drive_d process. Dell EMC released version 8.1.2 and subsequent patches that resolve this vulnerability by implementing proper input sanitization and validation mechanisms. Organizations should prioritize patch deployment across all affected Isilon OneFS and IsilonSD Edge systems to eliminate the remote exploitation risk. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit exposure of these systems to untrusted networks, while monitoring should be enabled to detect potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, system administrators should implement process monitoring to detect unusual restart patterns of the isi_drive_d process, which could indicate attempted exploitation. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing robust input validation controls as outlined in security frameworks such as those referenced in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under process injection and privilege escalation techniques. The vulnerability also highlights the need for proper system hardening practices and regular security assessments of storage infrastructure components to prevent similar issues from arising in enterprise environments.