Privilege escalation in VMWare ESXi

1) Out-of-bounds write

EUVDB-ID: #VU70156

Risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 7.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2022-31705

CWE-ID: CWE-787 - Out-of-bounds write

Exploit availability: Yes

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to a boundary error within the USB 2.0 controller (EHCI). A local privileged user on the guest OS can trigger an out-of-bounds write and execute arbitrary code as the virtual machine's VMX process running on the host.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Note, on ESXi the exploitation is contained within the VMX sandbox.

Vulnerable software versions

VMware ESXi: ESXi70U1c-17325551 - 8.0

CPE2.3

• cpe:2.3:o:vmware:vmware_esxi:ESXi70U1c-17325551:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:vmware:vmware_esxi:ESXi70U1e-19324898:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:vmware:vmware_esxi:ESXi70U1b-17168206:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

External links

https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2022-0033.html

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote authenticated privileged user via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.