VMSA-2016-0010.1
VMware product updates address multiple important security issues
VMware Security Advisory
1. Summary
VMware product updates address a DLL hijacking issue in Windows-based
VMware Tools and an HTTP Header injection issue in vCenter Server and ESXi.
2. Relevant Products
- VMware vCenter Server
- VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi)
- VMware Workstation Pro
- VMware Workstation Player
- VMware Fusion
- VMware Tools
3. Problem Description
a. DLL hijacking issue in Windows-based VMware Tools
A DLL hijacking vulnerability is present in the VMware Tools "Shared Folders" (HGFS) feature running on Microsoft Windows. Exploitation of this issue may lead to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the victim. In order to exploit this issue, the attacker would need write access to a network share and they would need to entice the local user into opening their document.
There are no known workarounds for this issue.
VMware would like to thank Yorick Koster of Securify B.V. for reporting this issue to us.
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the identifier CVE-2016-5330 to this issue.
Column 5 of the following table lists the action required to remediate the vulnerability in each release, if a solution is available.
VMware Product
Product Version
Running on
Severity
Replace with/ Apply Patch*
Workaround
* After the update or patch is applied, VMware Tools must also be updated in any Windows-based guests that include the "Shared Folders" (HGFS) feature to resolve CVE-2016-5330.
** VMware Tools can be downloaded independently and installed to resolve this issue.
*** Successfully exploiting this issue requires installation of "Shared Folders" component (HGFS feature) which does not get installed in "custom/typical" installation of VMware Tools on Windows VM running on ESXi.
b. HTTP Header injection issue in vCenter Server and ESXi
vCenter Server and ESXi contain an HTTP header injection vulnerability due to lack of input validation. An attacker can exploit this issue to set arbitrary HTTP response headers and cookies, which may allow for cross-site scripting and malicious redirect attacks.
There are no known workarounds for this issue.
VMware would like to thank Vladimir Ivanov, Andrey Evlanin, Mikhail Stepankin, Artem Kondratenko, Arseniy Sharoglazov of Positive Technologies, Matt Foster of Netcraft Ltd, Matthias Deeg of SySS GmbH, Eva Esteban Molina of A2secure and Ammarit Thongthua for independently reporting this issue to us.
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the identifier CVE-2016-5331 to this issue.
Column 5 of the following table lists the action required to remediate the vulnerability in each release, if a solution is available.
VMware Product
Product Version
Running on
Severity
Replace with/ Apply Patch*
Workaround
4. Solution
Please review the patch/release notes for your product and version and verify the checksum of your downloaded file.
vCenter Server
----------------------
Downloads and Documentation:
https://www.vmware.com/go/download-vsphere
ESXi 6.0
-------------
Downloads:
https://www.vmware.com/patchmgr/findPatch.portal
Documentation:
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2142192 (CVE-2016-5331)
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2142193 (CVE-2016-5330)
ESXi 5.5
------------
Downloads:
https://www.vmware.com/patchmgr/findPatch.portal
Documentation:
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2144370
ESXi 5.1
-----------
Downloads:
https://www.vmware.com/patchmgr/findPatch.portal
Documentation:
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2141434
ESXi 5.0
------------
Downloads:
https://www.vmware.com/patchmgr/findPatch.portal
Documentation:
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2144027
VMware Workstation Pro 12.1.1
--------------------------------------------
Downloads and Documentation:
https://www.vmware.com/go/downloadworkstationpro
VMware Workstation Player 12.1.1
------------------------------------------------
Downloads and Documentation:
https://www.vmware.com/go/downloadplayer
VMware Fusion 8.1.1
-----------------------------
Downloads and Documentation:
https://www.vmware.com/go/downloadfusion
VMware Tools 10.0.6
------------------------------
Downloads:
https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?downloadGroup=VMTOOLS1006&productId=491
Documentation:
http://pubs.vmware.com/Release_Notes/en/vmwaretools/1006/vmware-tools-1006-release-notes.html
5. References
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2016-5330
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2016-5331
6. Change log
2016-08-04 VMSA-2016-0010 Initial security advisory in conjunction with the release of VMware ESXi 5.5 patches on 2016-08-04.
2016-09-19 VMSA-2016-0010.1
Updated security advisory to clarify the affected versions of VMware tools.
7. Contact
E-mail list for product security notifications and announcements:
http://lists.vmware.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/security-announce
This Security Advisory is posted to the following lists:
security-announce@lists.vmware.com
E-mail: security@vmware.com
PGP key at: https://kb.vmware.com/kb/1055
VMware Security Advisories
http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories
Consolidated list of VMware Security Advisories
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2078735
VMware Security Response Policy
https://www.vmware.com/support/policies/security_response.html
VMware Lifecycle Support Phases
https://www.vmware.com/support/policies/lifecycle.html
Copyright 2016 VMware Inc. All rights reserved.