CVE-2019-2787 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle Solaris component of Oracle Sun Systems Products Suite (subcomponent: Automount). Supported versions that are affected are 11.4 and 10. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via NFS to compromise Oracle Solaris. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle Solaris accessible data as well as unauthorized read access to a subset of Oracle Solaris accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 4.2 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/07/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-2787 resides within the Oracle Solaris operating system's Automount subsystem, specifically affecting versions 10 and 11.4 of the Sun Systems Products Suite. This flaw represents a significant security weakness that can be exploited through network-based attacks leveraging NFS protocols, making it particularly concerning for enterprise environments where Solaris systems are deployed. The vulnerability's classification as difficult to exploit indicates that while it requires some level of sophistication, the attack surface is substantial enough to warrant immediate attention from security professionals. The CVSS 3.0 score of 4.2 reflects the moderate severity of the issue, with particular emphasis on confidentiality and integrity impacts that could allow unauthorized modifications to system data. The attack vector requires network access via NFS protocol, suggesting that systems with active NFS services or those connected to networks containing NFS servers may be at risk.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of automount requests within the Solaris system, where the automount daemon fails to properly validate incoming NFS mount requests. This flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to potentially manipulate the automount process to gain unauthorized access to system resources. The requirement for human interaction indicates that while the initial exploitation may not be fully automated, social engineering or targeted attacks could lead to successful compromise. The attack scenario typically involves an attacker initiating a malicious NFS mount request that exploits the automount subsystem's insufficient validation mechanisms. This vulnerability specifically targets the automount functionality that automatically mounts filesystems when accessed, creating a potential attack surface that could be leveraged for data manipulation or unauthorized access to sensitive information.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-2787 extends beyond simple data access violations, as it can enable unauthorized update, insert, or delete operations on Oracle Solaris accessible data, alongside unauthorized read access to subsets of system data. This compromise of data integrity and confidentiality represents a serious threat to system security, particularly in enterprise environments where Solaris systems may host critical business data or serve as foundational components in larger network infrastructures. The vulnerability's potential to affect multiple system components through the automount subsystem means that successful exploitation could result in cascading security issues across interconnected systems. Organizations relying on Solaris for their infrastructure may face significant operational disruption if this vulnerability is successfully exploited, potentially leading to data breaches, system compromise, or unauthorized access to sensitive corporate information.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-2787 should focus on implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit NFS service exposure to trusted networks only. System administrators should disable unnecessary automount services and ensure that NFS mounts are properly configured with appropriate security controls including proper authentication mechanisms and access restrictions. The implementation of network monitoring solutions can help detect anomalous automount activity or unauthorized NFS mount requests that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, regular security updates and patches from Oracle should be applied promptly to address the underlying vulnerability in the automount subsystem. Organizations should also consider implementing principle of least privilege access controls and regular security audits of NFS configurations to minimize the risk of exploitation. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-200 (Information Exposure) and CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) categories, while the attack patterns may correspond to techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under privilege escalation and credential access domains.