CVE-2021-2149 in ZFS Storage Appliance Kit
Summary
by MITRE • 04/23/2021
Vulnerability in the Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Kit product of Oracle Systems (component: Core). The supported version that is affected is 8.8. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with logon to the infrastructure where Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Kit executes to compromise Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Kit. 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 2.5 (Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N).
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/27/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-2149 resides within Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Kit version 8.8, specifically within the Core component of this storage infrastructure solution. This represents a significant security weakness that affects organizations relying on Oracle's ZFS storage appliances for their data management needs. The vulnerability's classification as difficult to exploit indicates that while it requires some level of access or skill to leverage, the attack surface remains concerning given the potential impact on storage system integrity. The CVSS 3.1 scoring of 2.5 reflects the moderate severity of the issue, primarily due to its integrity impact vector which suggests that successful exploitation could allow for unauthorized modifications to stored data.
The technical flaw manifests as a privilege escalation vulnerability that enables low-privileged attackers who have already gained logon access to the underlying infrastructure hosting the Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Kit. This means that an attacker who has already compromised a system or has legitimate access to the appliance environment could potentially exploit this weakness to gain further unauthorized access to the storage appliance's core functions. The vulnerability specifically targets the integrity controls that should prevent unauthorized modification of data within the system, making it particularly dangerous for organizations that rely on the immutability and security of their storage infrastructure.
From an operational impact perspective, successful exploitation of CVE-2021-2149 could enable attackers to perform unauthorized update, insert, or delete operations against data accessible through the Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Kit. This capability directly violates the fundamental security principles of data integrity and access control that storage systems are designed to maintain. Organizations using this appliance may experience data corruption, unauthorized data modification, or potential data loss if attackers successfully exploit this vulnerability. The impact extends beyond simple data manipulation as it could compromise the trustworthiness of the entire storage ecosystem, affecting backup systems, replication processes, and data recovery procedures that depend on the integrity of stored information.
The security implications of this vulnerability align with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control issues in software systems. This classification indicates that the vulnerability stems from inadequate privilege management or access control mechanisms within the Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Kit. The attack vector described by CVSS vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N suggests that exploitation requires local access with low privileges, but the attack complexity is high, meaning that specialized knowledge or specific conditions are necessary to successfully compromise the system. This vulnerability also maps to ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers local privilege escalation, indicating that attackers could leverage this weakness to move laterally within the storage infrastructure or escalate their privileges to gain broader access to connected systems.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including applying Oracle's security patches and updates as soon as they become available, conducting comprehensive vulnerability assessments of their storage infrastructure, and implementing additional monitoring controls to detect unauthorized access attempts. Network segmentation and principle of least privilege should be enforced to limit potential attack surfaces, while regular security audits should verify that access controls remain properly configured. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches for storage infrastructure components, as these systems often serve as critical data repositories that require robust protection against both external and internal threats. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing intrusion detection systems specifically designed to monitor storage appliance communications and access patterns to identify potential exploitation attempts.