Note: This is an archival copy of Security Sun Alert 265888 as previously published on http://sunsolve.sun.com.
Latest version of this security advisory is available from http://support.oracle.com as Sun Alert 1020844.1.
Article ID : 1020844.1
Article Type : Sun Alerts (SURE)
Last reviewed : 2009-09-09
Audience : PUBLIC
Copyright Notice: Copyright © 2010, Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates.

Security Vulnerability in Solaris sockfs Related to HTTP Request Handling May Allow Remote Users to Panic Web Servers Resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS)



Category
Security

Release Phase
Resolved

Bug Id
6834314

Product
Solaris 10 Operating System
OpenSolaris

Date of Workaround Release
26-Aug-2009

Date of Resolved Release
10-Sep-2009

A security vulnerability in the Solaris sockfs kernel module:

1. Impact

A security vulnerability in the Solaris sockfs kernel module may allow a local or remote unprivileged HTTP client to panic a vulnerable Solaris web server thereby resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) to the system as a whole.

2. Contributing Factors

This issue can occur in the following releases:

SPARC Platform
  • Solaris 10 with patch 118833-25 or later and without patch 141690-02
  • OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_41 through snv_122
x86 Platform
  • Solaris 10 with patch 118855-25  or later and without patch 141691-02
  • OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_41 through snv_122
Note 1: Solaris 8 and Solaris 9 are not impacted by this issue.

Note 2: This issue only occurs if a system is configured as an HTTP server utilizing the Solaris Network Cache Accelerator (nca(1)) and has logging enabled.  To determine if NCA is enabled on the system, execute the following command:
    $ grep status=enabled /etc/nca/ncakmod.conf
status=enabled
Please reference ncakmod.conf(4) for more information on configuring the NCA kernel module.

Physical interfaces registered to use the NCA feature are listed in the "/etc/nca/nca.if" file:
    $ cat /etc/nca/nca.if
hme0
hme1
Please reference nca.if(4) for more information on specifying the physical interfaces for NCA.

To determine if NCA logging is enabled, execute the following command:
    $ grep status=enabled /etc/nca/ncalogd.conf
status=enabled
Note 3: OpenSolaris distributions may include additional bug fixes above and beyond the build from which it was derived.  To determine the base build of OpenSolaris, the following command can be used:
    $ uname -v
snv_111
3. Symptoms

If the described issue occurs, the system will panic with a NULL pointer dereference on nl7c_http_log. The stack trace will be similar to the following:
   nl7c_http_log+0x9a()
nl7c_logd_log+0x16f()
nl7c_parse+0x49f()
nl7c_process+0x141()
sotpi_recvmsg+0x618()
socktpi_read+0x84()
fop_read+0x31()
read+0x188()
read32+0xe()
_sys_sysenter_post_swapgs+0x14b()
4. Workaround

To work around the described issue until patches can be installed, disable logging of NCA by setting "status=disabled" in "/etc/nca/ncalogd.conf". Please refer to ncalogd.conf(4) for details.

A system reboot is required for the change to be effective. Please refer to reboot(1M) for more details.

5. Resolution

This issue is addressed in the following releases:

SPARC Platform
  • Solaris 10 with patch 141690-02 or later
  • OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_123 or later
x86 Platform
  • Solaris 10 with patch 141691-02 or later
  • OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_123 or later
For more information on Security Sun Alerts, see 1009886.1.

This Sun Alert notification is being provided to you on an "AS IS" basis. This Sun Alert notification may contain information provided by third parties. The issues described in this Sun Alert notification may or may not impact your system(s). Sun makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees as to the information contained herein. ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED. BY ACCESSING THIS DOCUMENT YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SUN SHALL IN NO EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT ARISE OUT OF YOUR USE OR FAILURE TO USE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. This Sun Alert notification contains Sun proprietary and confidential information. It is being provided to you pursuant to the provisions of your agreement to purchase services from Sun, or, if you do not have such an agreement, the Sun.com Terms of Use. This Sun Alert notification may only be used for the purposes contemplated by these agreements.

Copyright 2000-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc., 4150 Network Circle, Santa Clara, CA 95054 U.S.A. All rights reserved.


Modification History
26-Aug-2009: Updated Contributing Factors and Resolution sections. Updated document release phase to Workaround.

10-Sep-2009: Updated the Contributing Factors and Resolution sections. Resolved.


References

141690-02
141691-02




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