CVE-2021-2147 in ZFS Storage Appliance Kit
Summary
by MITRE • 04/23/2021
Vulnerability in the Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Kit product of Oracle Systems (component: Installation). The supported version that is affected is 8.8. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with logon to the infrastructure where Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Kit executes to compromise Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Kit. 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 ZFS Storage Appliance Kit accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 1.8 (Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/27/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-2147 affects the Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Kit version 8.8 within the installation component, representing a significant security weakness in enterprise storage infrastructure. This vulnerability resides in the Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Kit, a critical component for enterprise data storage and management that provides unified storage services including file, block, and object storage capabilities. The affected product is designed to handle sensitive enterprise data and requires robust security controls to prevent unauthorized access and data compromise. The vulnerability specifically impacts the installation process, making it a potential entry point for attackers seeking to compromise the entire storage appliance ecosystem.
The technical flaw manifests as a difficulty in exploitation requiring high privileged access and human interaction, indicating that while the vulnerability itself may not be trivial to exploit, it presents a meaningful threat when combined with existing privileges and user interaction. According to the CVSS 3.1 scoring system, this vulnerability receives a base score of 1.8 with a vector of AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N, which classifies it as a low-impact integrity vulnerability. The attack vector AV:L indicates local access requirements, while the high access complexity AC:H suggests that sophisticated techniques are needed to exploit the vulnerability. The high privilege requirement PR:H means that attackers must already possess elevated system privileges to leverage this flaw effectively, and the human interaction UI:R requirement implies that additional user actions are necessary to complete the attack successfully. The scope S:U indicates that the vulnerability does not affect the overall system scope, limiting its impact to the specific appliance component.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations relying on Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Kit for their data infrastructure, as it allows for unauthorized modification of data within the appliance's accessible storage areas. The integrity impact level of L indicates that successful exploitation could result in unauthorized update, insert, or delete operations on stored data, potentially compromising the consistency and reliability of enterprise storage systems. While the confidentiality impact C:N suggests that data exposure is not a primary concern, the integrity implications pose serious risks to data integrity and system reliability. Organizations using this appliance may face potential data corruption, unauthorized data modifications, or disruption of storage services that could impact business operations. The vulnerability's requirement for human interaction suggests that it may be exploited through social engineering or insider threats, making it particularly dangerous in environments where trust relationships exist between users and system administrators.
Security practitioners should implement comprehensive monitoring and access control measures to mitigate this vulnerability, focusing on limiting local access privileges and implementing strict user authentication protocols. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and CWE-250 (Execute Code with Unnecessary Privileges) classifications, indicating that access control mechanisms are insufficient to prevent unauthorized operations. Organizations should consider implementing the ATT&CK technique T1078 (Valid Accounts) to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to the appliance, and T1566 (Phishing for Information) to prevent social engineering attacks that could exploit the human interaction requirement. Additionally, regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify potential exploitation attempts, while implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit the attack surface. The recommended mitigations include strict privilege management, regular system updates, comprehensive logging of all administrative activities, and employee training to recognize potential social engineering attempts that could lead to exploitation of this vulnerability.