Privilege escalation in VMware ESXi

1) Out-of-bounds read

EUVDB-ID: #VU15377

Risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 6.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-6974

CWE-ID: CWE-119 - Memory corruption

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows an adjacent attacker to gain elevated privileges on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to out-of-bounds read condition in the SVGA device. An adjacent attacker can send a specially crafted request that submits malicious input to the targeted host system. A successful exploit could trigger an out-of-bounds read condition and execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in complete compromise of vulnerable system.

Mitigation

Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

VMware ESXi: 5.5 - 6.7

CPE2.3

• cpe:2.3:o:vmware:vmware_esxi:5.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:vmware:vmware_esxi:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:vmware:vmware_esxi:6.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

External links

https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2018-0026.html

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the local network (LAN).

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

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