CVE-2021-2167 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE • 04/23/2021
Vulnerability in the Oracle Solaris product of Oracle Systems (component: Common Desktop Environment). The supported version that is affected is 10. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with logon to the infrastructure where Oracle Solaris executes to compromise Oracle Solaris. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of Oracle Solaris. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 7.8 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/27/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-2167 resides within the Common Desktop Environment component of Oracle Solaris version 10, representing a critical security flaw that significantly impacts system integrity and confidentiality. This vulnerability operates within the context of a desktop environment that serves as a foundational element for user interaction with the operating system, making it a prime target for exploitation by adversaries who have already gained initial access to the system. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers with minimal privileges can leverage this flaw to achieve substantial system compromise, highlighting the severity of the issue within enterprise environments where Solaris systems may be deployed.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls and potential privilege escalation mechanisms within the Common Desktop Environment subsystem. This flaw allows an attacker who has already established a login session on the Solaris system to potentially elevate their privileges or gain unauthorized access to system resources that should remain restricted. The vulnerability's impact extends across all three core security principles as defined by the CVSS framework, affecting confidentiality through potential data exposure, integrity through possible system modification, and availability through potential system disruption. The low attack complexity and low privilege requirements indicate that this vulnerability can be exploited through relatively simple means, often requiring only the attacker's presence on the system to execute successful exploitation.
The operational impact of CVE-2021-2167 represents a severe threat to enterprise security infrastructure, particularly in environments where Solaris systems serve as critical components in business operations. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to complete system takeover, allowing attackers to establish persistent access and potentially use the compromised system as a launching point for further attacks within the network. The CVSS base score of 7.8 reflects the high severity of this vulnerability, indicating that organizations must address this issue promptly to prevent potential data breaches, system corruption, or service disruption. Organizations utilizing Oracle Solaris 10 systems in production environments face significant risk exposure through this vulnerability, as it provides attackers with a pathway to gain unauthorized control over critical system resources.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2021-2167 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Oracle Solaris systems through official Oracle security updates, as recommended by the Oracle Critical Patch Update advisory. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and access control measures to limit the potential impact of exploitation, particularly by restricting unnecessary access to Solaris systems and monitoring for suspicious login patterns. The vulnerability's characteristics align with ATT&CK technique T1068, which involves exploiting local privilege escalation vulnerabilities, and CWE-284, which addresses improper access control mechanisms. Additionally, system administrators should consider implementing privileged access management solutions and conducting regular security assessments to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities within their Solaris environments. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of patches in controlled environments before deployment to production systems to ensure operational stability while addressing the security risk effectively.