Format string vulnerability in vmware-vmrc.exe build 158248 in VMware Remote Console (aka VMrc) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors.

The remote VMware ESX host is missing a security-related patch. It is, therefore, affected by multiple vulnerabilities :

  - A format string flaw exists in the VMware Remote Console     that allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code.
    (CVE-2009-3732)

  - A flaw exists in VMware Tools due to improper access to     libraries. A remote attacker can exploit this to execute     arbitrary code by convincing a Windows guest OS user     into clicking on a file that is stored on a network     share. (CVE-2010-1141)

  - A flaw exists in VMware Tools due to improper loading of     VMware programs. An attacker with access to a Windows     guest OS can escalate privileges by placing a Trojan     horse program at an unspecified location on the guest OS     disk. (CVE-2010-1142)

The remote host is affected by the vulnerability described in GLSA-201209-25 (VMware Player, Server, Workstation: Multiple vulnerabilities)

    Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in VMware Player, Server,       and Workstation. Please review the CVE identifiers referenced below for       details.
  Impact :

    Local users may be able to gain escalated privileges, cause a Denial of       Service, or gain sensitive information.
    A remote attacker could entice a user to open a specially crafted file,       possibly resulting in the remote execution of arbitrary code, or a Denial       of Service. Remote attackers also may be able to spoof DNS traffic, read       arbitrary files, or inject arbitrary web script to the VMware Server       Console.
    Furthermore, guest OS users may be able to execute arbitrary code on the       host OS, gain escalated privileges on the guest OS, or cause a Denial of       Service (crash the host OS).
  Workaround :

    There is no known workaround at this time.

a. Windows-based VMware Tools Unsafe Library Loading vulnerability

   A vulnerability in the way VMware libraries are referenced allows    for arbitrary code execution in the context of the logged on user.
   This vulnerability is present only on Windows Guest Operating    Systems.

   In order for an attacker to exploit the vulnerability, the attacker    would need to lure the user that is logged on a Windows Guest    Operating System to click on the attacker's file on a network    share. This file could be in any file format. The attacker will    need to have the ability to host their malicious files on a    network share.

   VMware would like to thank Jure Skofic and Mitja Kolsek of ACROS    Security (http://www.acrossecurity.com) for reporting this issue    to us.

   The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org)    has assigned the name CVE-2010-1141 to this issue.

   Steps needed to remediate this vulnerability :

   Guest systems on VMware Workstation, Player, ACE, Server, Fusion
    - Install the remediated version of Workstation, Player, ACE,       Server and Fusion.
    - Upgrade tools in the virtual machine (virtual machine users       will be prompted to upgrade).

   Guest systems on ESX 4.0, 3.5, 3.0.3, 2.5.5, ESXi 4.0, 3.5
    - Install the relevant patches (see below for patch identifiers)
    - Manually upgrade tools in the virtual machine (virtual machine       users will not be prompted to upgrade).  Note the VI Client will       not show the VMware tools is out of date in the summary tab.
      Please see http://tinyurl.com/27mpjo page 80 for details.

b. Windows-based VMware Tools Arbitrary Code Execution vulnerability

   A vulnerability in the way VMware executables are loaded allows for    arbitrary code execution in the context of the logged on user. This    vulnerability is present only on Windows Guest Operating Systems.

   In order for an attacker to exploit the vulnerability, the attacker    would need to be able to plant their malicious executable in a    certain location on the Virtual Machine of the user.  On most    recent versions of Windows (XP, Vista) the attacker would need to    have administrator privileges to plant the malicious executable in    the right location.

   Steps needed to remediate this vulnerability: See section 3.a.

   VMware would like to thank Mitja Kolsek of ACROS Security    (http://www.acrossecurity.com) for reporting this issue to us.

   The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org)    has assigned the name CVE-2010-1142 to this issue.

   Refer to the previous table in section 3.a for what action    remediates the vulnerability (column 4) if a solution is    available. See above for remediation details.

c. Windows-based VMware Workstation and Player host privilege    escalation

   A vulnerability in the USB service allows for a privilege    escalation. A local attacker on the host of a Windows-based    Operating System where VMware Workstation or VMware Player    is installed could plant a malicious executable on the host and    elevate their privileges.

   In order for an attacker to exploit the vulnerability, the attacker    would need to be able to plant their malicious executable in a    certain location on the host machine.  On most recent versions of    Windows (XP, Vista) the attacker would need to have administrator    privileges to plant the malicious executable in the right location.

   VMware would like to thank Thierry Zoller for reporting this issue    to us.

   The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org)    has assigned the name CVE-2010-1140 to this issue.

d. Third-party library update for libpng to version 1.2.37

   The libpng libraries through 1.2.35 contain an uninitialized-    memory-read bug that may have security implications.
   Specifically, 1-bit (2-color) interlaced images whose widths are    not divisible by 8 may result in several uninitialized bits at the    end of certain rows in certain interlace passes being returned to    the user. An application that failed to mask these out-of-bounds    pixels might display or process them, albeit presumably with benign    results in most cases.

   The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures Project (cve.mitre.org)    has assigned the name CVE-2009-2042 to this issue.

e. VMware VMnc Codec heap overflow vulnerabilities

   The VMware movie decoder contains the VMnc media codec that is    required to play back movies recorded with VMware Workstation,    VMware Player and VMware ACE, in any compatible media player. The    movie decoder is installed as part of VMware Workstation, VMware    Player and VMware ACE, or can be downloaded as a stand alone    package.

   Vulnerabilities in the decoder allow for execution of arbitrary    code with the privileges of the user running an application    utilizing the vulnerable codec.

   For an attack to be successful the user must be tricked into    visiting a malicious web page or opening a malicious video file on    a system that has the vulnerable version of the VMnc codec installed.

   The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org)    has assigned the names CVE-2009-1564 and CVE-2009-1565 to these    issues.

   VMware would like to thank iDefense, Sebastien Renaud of VUPEN    Vulnerability Research Team (http://www.vupen.com) and Alin Rad Pop    of Secunia Research for reporting these issues to us.

   To remediate the above issues either install the stand alone movie    decoder or update your product using the table below.

f. VMware Remote Console format string vulnerability

   VMware Remote Console (VMrc) contains a format string vulnerability.
   Exploitation of this issue may lead to arbitrary code execution on    the system where VMrc is installed.

   For an attack to be successful, an attacker would need to trick the    VMrc user into opening a malicious Web page or following a malicious    URL. Code execution would be at the privilege level of the user.

   VMrc is present on a system if the VMrc browser plug-in has been    installed. This plug-in is required when using the console feature in    WebAccess. Installation of the plug-in follows after visiting the    console tab in WebAccess and choosing 'Install plug-in'. The plug-    in can only be installed on Internet Explorer and Firefox.

   Under the following two conditions your version of VMrc is likely    to be affected :

   - the VMrc plug-in was obtained from vCenter 4.0 or from ESX 4.0      without patch ESX400-200911223-UG and
   - VMrc is installed on a Windows-based system

   The following steps allow you to determine if you have an affected    version of VMrc installed :

   - Locate the VMrc executable vmware-vmrc.exe on your Windows-based      system
   - Right click and go to Properties
   - Go to the tab 'Versions'
   - Click 'File Version' in the 'Item Name' window
   - If the 'Value' window shows 'e.x.p build-158248', the version of      VMrc is affected

   Remediation of this issue on Windows-based systems requires the    following steps (Linux-based systems are not affected) :

   - Uninstall affected versions of VMrc from the systems where the      VMrc plug-in has been installed (use the Windows Add/Remove      Programs interface)
   - Install vCenter 4.0 Update 1 or install the ESX 4.0 patch      ESX400-200911223-UG
   - Login into vCenter 4.0 Update 1 or ESX 4.0 with patch      ESX400-200911223-UG using WebAccess on the system where the VMrc      needs to be re-installed
   - Re-install VMrc by going to the console tab in WebAccess.  The      Console tab is selectable after selecting a virtual machine.

   Note: the VMrc plug-in for Firefox on Windows-based operating    systems is no longer compatible after the above remediation steps.
   Users are advised to use the Internet Explorer VMrc plug-in.

   VMware would like to thank Alexey Sintsov from Digital Security    Research Group for reporting this issue to us.

   The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org)    has assigned the name CVE-2009-3732 to this issue.


g. Windows-based VMware authd remote denial of service

   A vulnerability in vmware-authd could cause a denial of service    condition on Windows-based hosts.  The denial of service is limited    to a crash of authd.

   The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures Project (cve.mitre.org)    has assigned the name CVE-2009-3707 to this issue.

h. Potential information leak via hosted networking stack

   A vulnerability in the virtual networking stack of VMware hosted    products could allow host information disclosure.

   A guest operating system could send memory from the host vmware-vmx    process to the virtual network adapter and potentially to the    host's physical Ethernet wire.

   The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures Project (cve.mitre.org)    has assigned the name CVE-2010-1138 to this issue.

   VMware would like to thank Johann MacDonagh for reporting this    issue to us.

i. Linux-based vmrun format string vulnerability

   A format string vulnerability in vmrun could allow arbitrary code    execution.

   If a vmrun command is issued and processes are listed, code could    be executed in the context of the user listing the processes.

   The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures Project (cve.mitre.org)    has assigned the name CVE-2010-1139 to this issue.

   VMware would like to thank Thomas Toth-Steiner for reporting this    issue to us.

A VMware product (Player, Workstation, or Movie Decoder) detected on the remote host has one or more of the following vulnerabilities :

  - The VMnc media codec has multiple heap overflow     vulnerabilities.  A remote attacker could exploit these     issues by tricking a user into requesting a malicious     web page or opening a malicious file.
    (CVE-2009-1564, CVE-2009-1565)

  - A flaw in the 3rd party libpng library could allow an     attacker to read sensitive portions of memory.
    (CVE-2009-2042)

  - A flaw in vmware-authd could lead to a denial of service     service on Windows-based hosts. (CVE-2009-3707)

  - A format string vulnerability exists in the VMware     Remote     Console Plug-in.  A remote attacker could exploit this     by tricking a user into requesting a malicious web     page, resulting in arbitrary code execution.
    (CVE-2009-3732)

  - A flaw in the virtual networking stack could result in     an information leak, causing memory from a guest VM to     be sent to host's physical network. (CVE-2010-1138)

  - A vulnerability in the USB service allows a local     attacker to elevate privileges by placing a malicious     file in a certain location.  This vulnerability only     affects Workstation and Player installed on Windows.
    (CVE-2010-1140)

  - A flaw in the way VMware libraries are referenced could     allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code in a     guest Windows VM by tricking a user into requesting a     malicious file. (CVE-2010-1141)

  - A flaw in the way VMware executables are loaded could     allow a malicious user to execute arbitrary code in a     guest Windows VM by planting a malicious file in a     a certain location. (CVE-2010-1142)

ID	Name	Product	Family	Severity
89739	VMware ESX Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2010-0007) (remote check)	Nessus	VMware ESX Local Security Checks	critical
62383	GLSA-201209-25 : VMware Player, Server, Workstation: Multiple vulnerabilities	Nessus	Gentoo Local Security Checks	medium
56246	VMSA-2010-0007 : VMware hosted products, vCenter Server and ESX patches resolve multiple security issues	Nessus	VMware ESX Local Security Checks	critical
45541	VMware Products Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2010-0007)	Nessus	Windows	high

Detections

Analytics

CVE-2009-3732

critical

Tenable Plugins

critical

medium

critical

high