CVE-2009-0901 is a vulnerability that affects the Sun Solaris operating system. This vulnerability allows a local user to gain escalated privileges on a Solaris machine. The root cause of this vulnerability is an error in the way that Solaris processes setuid requests, allowing a user to execute arbitrary code with higher privileges than they should have.
The vulnerability was disclosed publicly on March 19, 2009, and a patch was released by Sun Microsystems on April 14, 2009. Prior to the release of the patch, attackers were able to exploit the vulnerability to gain root-level access to affected systems. This could potentially allow attackers to steal sensitive data, install malware or conduct other malicious activities.
It is important for organizations running Solaris to ensure that they have applied the necessary patches to address this vulnerability. Additionally, it highlights the importance of regularly reviewing and updating software to ensure that any vulnerabilities are promptly identified and addressed to reduce the risk of potential security breaches.