CVE-2008-1362 in Player
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 or cause a denial of service by impersonating the authd process through an unspecified use of an "insecurely created named pipe," a different vulnerability than CVE-2008-1361.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/08/2019
This vulnerability affects multiple VMware products including Workstation, Player, ACE, and Server versions prior to specific patch releases. The flaw stems from an insecurely created named pipe mechanism that allows local attackers to impersonate the authd process, which is a critical authentication service component. The vulnerability represents a privilege escalation issue that could enable attackers to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges or disrupt system operations through denial of service conditions.
The technical implementation involves the creation of named pipes without proper security attributes or access control mechanisms. Named pipes in Windows operating systems are inter-process communication mechanisms that require appropriate security descriptors to prevent unauthorized access. When VMware products create these named pipes without proper security controls, they expose the system to local privilege escalation attacks where malicious code can masquerade as legitimate authentication processes. This issue is categorized under CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write and CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management, as it involves both improper access control and privilege handling mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations using affected VMware products, particularly in enterprise environments where virtualization platforms are extensively deployed. Local attackers with basic user privileges can exploit this weakness to gain elevated system rights, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability affects both desktop virtualization products like Workstation and Player, as well as server virtualization solutions like VMware Server, making it a widespread concern across the VMware product portfolio. Attackers can leverage this weakness to establish persistent access or cause service disruption, which aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068: Exploitation for Privilege Escalation and T1489: Service Stop.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of all affected VMware products to the latest available versions. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit local access to virtualization hosts and monitor for suspicious named pipe activity. System administrators should review and harden the security configurations of VMware installations, ensuring proper access controls are in place for inter-process communication mechanisms. Additionally, regular security assessments of virtualization environments should include checks for insecure named pipe implementations and other privilege escalation vulnerabilities. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper security implementation in virtualization platforms and highlights the need for comprehensive security testing of all system components, particularly those involved in authentication and privilege management processes.