CVE-2007-5025 in ACE
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in EMC VMware ACE before 1.0.3 Build 54075 allows attackers to have an unknown impact via an unspecified manipulation of "images stored in virtual machines downloaded by the user."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/08/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-5025 represents a security flaw within EMC VMware ACE version 1.0.2 and earlier, specifically affecting systems prior to build 54075. This issue resides in the handling of image data within virtual machine environments, where attackers can manipulate stored images through downloaded virtual machine content. The unspecified nature of both the vulnerability mechanism and its impact makes this particularly concerning for security professionals who must assess risk without clear technical parameters. The vulnerability occurs during the process of virtual machine image processing, suggesting a potential code execution or data corruption scenario that could affect the integrity of virtualized environments.
The technical flaw manifests in how VMware ACE processes and stores image data when virtual machines are downloaded and executed within the platform. This represents a potential weakness in input validation and data handling procedures that could allow malicious actors to inject or modify image content in ways that compromise system integrity. The vulnerability exists in the virtual machine image processing pipeline where downloaded content is stored and subsequently accessed, creating a potential attack surface for privilege escalation or data manipulation. This type of vulnerability typically falls under the category of data integrity issues where image files become vectors for malicious code execution or system compromise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple image manipulation to potentially affect entire virtual machine environments and the underlying infrastructure. Attackers could exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized access to virtualized systems, potentially leading to complete system compromise or data exfiltration. The vulnerability's presence in the virtual machine download and storage process means that any user who downloads and executes virtual machine content could become a vector for attack. This creates significant risk for organizations using VMware ACE for virtualization, as compromised virtual machines could serve as entry points for broader network infiltration or as persistent backdoors within the virtualized environment.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to VMware ACE version 1.0.3 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address this vulnerability. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual virtual machine image downloads or modifications. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) and potentially CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code) as it involves manipulation of stored data that could lead to code execution. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability could map to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence through virtual machine manipulation. Additional defensive measures should include regular security assessments of virtual machine environments, implementation of strict access controls for virtual machine downloads, and comprehensive monitoring of image storage and modification activities to detect potential exploitation attempts.