Cryptographic issues in VMware, vCenter Server Appliance

1) Cryptographic issues

EUVDB-ID: #VU41033

Risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 2.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2014-8371

CWE-ID: CWE-310 - Cryptographic Issues

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote non-authenticated attacker to manipulate data.

VMware vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) 5.5 before Update 2, 5.1 before Update 3, and 5.0 before Update 3c does not properly validate certificates when connecting to a CIM Server on an ESXi host, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof CIM servers via a crafted certificate.

Mitigation

Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

vCenter Server Appliance: 5.0 - 5.5

CPE2.3

• cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server_appliance:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server_appliance:5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server_appliance:5.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

External links

https://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2014/Dec/23
https://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/534161/100/0/threaded
https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2014-0012.html

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

How the attacker can exploit this vulnerability?

The attacker would have to trick the victim to open a a specially crafted file.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.