CVE-2008-1361 in Workstation
Summary
by MITRE
VMware Workstation 6.0.x before 6.0.3 and 5.5.x before 5.5.6, VMware Player 2.0.x before 2.0.3 and 1.0.x before 1.0.6, VMware ACE 2.0.x before 2.0.1 and 1.0.x before 1.0.5, and VMware Server 1.0.x before 1.0.5 on Windows allow local users to gain privileges via an unspecified manipulation that causes the authd process to connect to an arbitrary named pipe, a different vulnerability than CVE-2008-1362.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/13/2025
This vulnerability affects multiple VMware products including Workstation, Player, ACE, and Server on Windows platforms. The flaw exists in the authentication daemon process known as authd which is responsible for handling authentication and authorization functions within the VMware environment. The vulnerability stems from improper validation of named pipe connections, allowing local attackers to manipulate the authentication process by forcing it to connect to arbitrary named pipes instead of the intended secure communication channels.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the trust relationship between the authd process and named pipe communication mechanisms. When the authd service attempts to establish connections, it does not properly validate the target pipe names, creating an opportunity for privilege escalation. Attackers can leverage this by creating malicious named pipes with specific names that the authd process will attempt to connect to, potentially gaining elevated privileges through manipulation of the authentication flow. This represents a classic privilege escalation vulnerability where local users can exploit service communication patterns to elevate their access rights.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it allows local users to potentially gain administrative privileges on systems running affected VMware products. This creates a serious security risk for virtualized environments where multiple users may have access to the same host system. The vulnerability affects a wide range of VMware products and versions, making it particularly concerning for organizations that maintain legacy virtualization infrastructure. The privilege escalation could enable attackers to access sensitive virtual machine data, modify system configurations, or establish persistent access to the host system.
Mitigation strategies should focus on applying the vendor-provided patches that address the named pipe validation issue in the authd process. Organizations should prioritize updating all affected VMware products to their latest versions, particularly those that have been released since the vulnerability was disclosed. System administrators should also implement additional security controls such as monitoring for suspicious named pipe connections and ensuring that only authorized users have local access to VMware host systems. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 which addresses improper access control, and represents a technique that could be categorized under ATT&CK tactic TA0004 (Privilege Escalation) and technique T1068 (Exploitation for Privilege Escalation). Regular security assessments of virtualization environments should include checks for similar named pipe manipulation vulnerabilities, and network segmentation should be implemented to limit local access to critical virtualization infrastructure.