CVE-2018-3271 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Solaris component of Oracle Sun Systems Products Suite (subcomponent: Kernel Zones). The supported version that is affected is 11.3. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with logon to the infrastructure where Solaris executes to compromise Solaris. While the vulnerability is in Solaris, attacks may significantly impact additional products. 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 5.3 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/29/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-3271 resides within the Solaris component of Oracle Sun Systems Products Suite, specifically affecting the Kernel Zones subcomponent in Solaris version 11.3. This represents a significant security weakness that demonstrates the complex interdependencies between operating system components and their potential for cascading failures across enterprise environments. The vulnerability's classification as difficult to exploit indicates that while it requires specific conditions to be successfully leveraged, the potential consequences for affected systems are severe and warrant immediate attention from security professionals.
This vulnerability operates at a fundamental level within the kernel zones implementation, where the flaw allows a high privileged attacker who has already established logon access to the Solaris infrastructure to compromise the entire operating system. The attack vector requires local access with elevated privileges, making it more challenging to exploit compared to remotely accessible vulnerabilities, yet the implications remain severe given the attacker's elevated position. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond Solaris itself, as evidenced by the CVSS vector indicating a potential for significant impact on additional products that may rely on or interact with Solaris systems.
The technical nature of this vulnerability manifests as an availability impact that can result in complete denial of service conditions, where successful exploitation leads to system hangs or frequently repeatable crashes. This type of vulnerability directly maps to CWE-119, which describes weaknesses in memory handling that can lead to system instability and crashes. The CVSS 3.0 base score of 5.3 reflects the moderate severity of the availability impact, though the combination of local access requirements and the potential for complete system compromise creates a dangerous scenario for enterprise environments. The vector analysis shows AV:L (local access), AC:H (high attack complexity), PR:H (high privilege requirement), and S:C (scope change), indicating that while the attack requires significant preconditions, the potential for system-wide disruption is substantial.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-3271 extends beyond immediate system availability concerns to encompass broader enterprise security implications. Organizations running Solaris 11.3 systems with kernel zones functionality face potential disruptions that could affect critical business operations, particularly in environments where system uptime is paramount. The vulnerability's potential to cause complete system crashes means that organizations must consider not only immediate remediation but also disaster recovery planning and business continuity measures. The attack scenario requires an attacker to already have local access and elevated privileges, suggesting that organizations should focus on privilege management and access controls as part of their overall security strategy. The complexity of exploitation makes this vulnerability less likely to be targeted by automated attacks, but the potential for targeted attacks by sophisticated adversaries remains significant, particularly in environments where insider threats or compromised accounts are possible.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-3271 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Solaris systems through Oracle's security updates, as this represents the most effective defense against exploitation. Organizations should also implement robust privilege management policies and access controls to limit the potential impact of compromised accounts. The principle of least privilege should be enforced rigorously, ensuring that local system access is limited to authorized personnel only. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual system behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider implementing additional logging and alerting mechanisms specifically focused on kernel zone activities and system stability indicators. The vulnerability's characteristics align with ATT&CK technique T1068, which involves local privilege escalation, making it important for security operations centers to monitor for behaviors consistent with this attack pattern. Organizations should also review their incident response procedures to ensure they can effectively respond to availability impacts that might result from exploitation of this vulnerability, particularly given the potential for cascading effects across interconnected systems that rely on Solaris infrastructure.