CVE-2009-1805 in Workstation
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the VMware Descheduled Time Accounting driver in VMware Workstation 6.5.1 and earlier, VMware Player 2.5.1 and earlier, VMware ACE 2.5.1 and earlier, VMware Server 1.x before 1.0.9 build 156507 and 2.x before 2.0.1 build 156745, VMware Fusion 2.x before 2.0.2 build 147997, VMware ESXi 3.5, and VMware ESX 3.0.2, 3.0.3, and 3.5, when the Descheduled Time Accounting Service is not running, allows guest OS users on Windows to cause a denial of service via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/11/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2009-1805 represents a critical weakness in VMware's virtualization infrastructure that specifically affects the Descheduled Time Accounting driver component. This flaw exists across multiple VMware products including Workstation, Player, ACE, Server, Fusion, ESXi, and ESX platforms, indicating a widespread issue within VMware's virtualization stack. The vulnerability manifests when the Descheduled Time Accounting Service is not actively running, creating a condition where guest operating systems can exploit this weakness to trigger system instability. This represents a fundamental design flaw in VMware's resource management and virtualization layer that affects the core functionality of these virtualized environments.
The technical nature of this vulnerability falls under the category of unspecified attack vectors that can lead to denial of service conditions within virtualized environments. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability would likely map to CWE-119 which describes weaknesses that allow attackers to cause a denial of service through memory corruption or resource exhaustion. The flaw operates at the hypervisor level where guest operating systems can manipulate the descheduled time accounting mechanism to cause system instability. This type of vulnerability represents a privilege escalation path where unprivileged guest users can potentially compromise the stability of the entire virtualization platform, affecting not just individual virtual machines but the underlying host system's resource management capabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the integrity of virtualized environments. When guest OS users can trigger denial of service conditions, they effectively gain the ability to disrupt the normal operation of the hypervisor, which could lead to cascading failures across multiple virtual machines running on the same host. This vulnerability represents a significant threat to virtualization security as it allows for indirect system compromise through resource management manipulation. The attack surface is particularly concerning because it affects multiple versions of VMware products, meaning that organizations with diverse virtualization environments would need to address this issue across their entire infrastructure. The vulnerability's potential for exploitation by unprivileged users makes it especially dangerous in multi-tenant virtualization environments where guest isolation is critical.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate attention from VMware customers and system administrators who must ensure that the Descheduled Time Accounting Service is properly configured and running across all affected platforms. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to upgrade to versions that address this vulnerability, particularly since VMware released updates for all affected versions including Workstation 6.5.2, Player 2.5.2, ACE 2.5.2, Server 1.0.9 and 2.0.1, Fusion 2.0.2, and updated ESXi and ESX builds. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques involving privilege escalation and denial of service operations, where adversaries can leverage system weaknesses to disrupt normal operations. System administrators should also consider implementing network segmentation and monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts, as well as conducting regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in virtualization infrastructure. The remediation process must include thorough testing of patched environments to ensure that the fix does not introduce compatibility issues with existing virtualized applications and services.