CVE-2009-1170
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedUnspecified vulnerability in Sun OpenSolaris snv_100 through snv_101 allows local users, with privileges in a non-global zone, to execute arbitrary code in the global zone when a global-zone user is using mdb on a non-global zone process.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThis is a cross-zone privilege escalation vulnerability in Sun OpenSolaris snv_100 through snv_101. A local user with privileges in a non-global zone can execute arbitrary code in the global zone when a global-zone user is using the mdb (modular debugger) on a process running in the non-global zone. The vulnerability stems from improper isolation between zones when the debugger interacts with processes across zone boundaries.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= snv_100= snv_101CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify OpenSolaris versionRun `uname -r` or view `/etc/opensolaris-release` to determine the installed build versionAffected if Version is snv_100 or snv_101 exactly (these are the only affected versions listed)
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Verify zone infrastructure existsRun `zoneadm list -vi` to list all zones and their status on the systemAffected if A non-global zone is configured and running on the system
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Confirm mdb cross-zone debugging capabilityCheck if mdb can be used to debug processes across zone boundaries by examining zone configuration: run `zonecfg -z <zonename> info` for each non-global zone and look for debug or proc privilegesAffected if The non-global zone has privileges that allow the global zone user to attach mdb to processes within it
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Detect active mdb debugging sessionsRun `ps -ef | grep mdb` to see if mdb is currently running, particularly if debugging processes in non-global zonesAffected if An mdb process is actively debugging or has recently debugged a process in a non-global zone from the global zone
A system is affected only if it runs OpenSolaris snv_100 or snv_101, has non-global zones configured, and a global-zone user is using mdb to debug processes running in those non-global zones.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the relevant vendor patch or upgrade to a patched version of OpenSolaris/Solaris that addresses this vulnerability. Consider limiting mdb debugging of cross-zone processes until patches are applied.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-1170 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2009-1170 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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