CVE-2019-2544 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle Solaris component of Oracle Sun Systems Products Suite (subcomponent: Kernel). Supported versions that are affected are 10 and 11. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with logon to the infrastructure where Oracle Solaris executes to compromise Oracle Solaris. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized read access to a subset of Oracle Solaris accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 4.0 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/28/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-2544 resides within the Oracle Solaris operating system kernel component, specifically affecting versions 10 and 11 of the Sun Systems Products Suite. This security flaw represents a significant concern for organizations relying on Solaris environments, as it operates at the kernel level where system integrity and data protection are paramount. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers with minimal privileges can leverage this weakness to compromise the target system, making it particularly dangerous in environments where physical or network access may be granted to unauthorized parties.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls within the Solaris kernel, allowing an unauthenticated attacker who has already gained logon access to the infrastructure to potentially access sensitive data within the operating system. This represents a privilege escalation issue where the attacker can bypass normal access restrictions to read data that should otherwise be protected. The CVSS 3.0 score of 4.0 reflects the moderate severity impact, with particular emphasis on confidentiality implications where unauthorized read access to system data can occur without modification or disruption to system operations.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability creates a substantial risk for organizations running Oracle Solaris systems, as it enables data exfiltration from systems that may contain sensitive information, user credentials, or system configurations. The attack vector requiring only local access to the infrastructure means that physical access to the system or network-level access that allows login capabilities can be sufficient for exploitation. This vulnerability particularly impacts environments where Solaris systems serve as critical infrastructure components, potentially affecting database servers, application servers, or network services that rely on Solaris for their operation. The impact extends beyond simple data theft, as compromised system data can provide attackers with intelligence for further exploitation attempts against the broader network infrastructure.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including applying the relevant Oracle Security patches, which typically address the kernel-level access control mechanisms that allow this unauthorized data access. Network segmentation and access control measures should be reinforced to limit the potential impact of local access, while monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect unusual data access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control issues, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege that should govern system access controls. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and credential access, potentially enabling adversaries to move laterally within networks where Solaris systems are deployed. System administrators should also consider implementing additional logging and monitoring for kernel-level activities, as this vulnerability's exploitation may leave subtle traces that could be detected through proper security monitoring procedures.