Executive brief
A vulnerability in the Solaris administrative tool (admintool) allows a local user to gain full control over the operating system. By exploiting this flaw, an attacker with basic access to the system can overwrite critical system files and escalate their privileges to the root user level. This could lead to a total compromise of the server, including unauthorized data access and the ability to disable system services.
Technical details
A vulnerability exists in the admintool utility within SunOS/Solaris 2.5 and 2.5.1. The flaw allows a local, unprivileged user to perform arbitrary file writes across the file system. By targeting sensitive system configuration files or binaries, an attacker can achieve a full privilege escalation to root. The attack requires local access to the system but no special administrative permissions. This issue was originally disclosed in 1996 and is addressed in subsequent vendor patches.
Affected products
- Sun Microsystems Solaris 2.5, 2.5.1
- Sun Microsystems SunOS 5.5, 5.5.1
Timeline
- 1996-07-25: disclosed: Initial publication date