CVE-2012-5458 in Workstation
Summary
by MITRE
VMware Workstation 8.x before 8.0.5 and VMware Player 4.x before 4.0.5 on Windows use weak permissions for unspecified process threads, which allows host OS users to gain host OS privileges via a crafted application.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/19/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-5458 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw affecting VMware Workstation and Player installations on Windows operating systems. This issue stems from improper permission settings within process threads that are utilized by these virtualization platforms, creating a pathway for malicious actors to elevate their privileges from standard user level to full host operating system administrator access. The vulnerability specifically impacts versions prior to 8.0.5 for Workstation and 4.0.5 for Player, indicating that these particular releases contained insufficient security controls around thread-level permissions that should have been enforced to maintain proper isolation between virtualized environments and the underlying host system.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-276, which addresses improper permissions and access control mechanisms within software systems. The flaw exploits the weak thread permissions by allowing a crafted application to manipulate or interact with process threads that should normally be restricted to privileged operations. This misconfiguration creates an attack surface where unprivileged users can potentially execute code with elevated privileges, effectively bypassing the fundamental security model that virtualization platforms are designed to maintain. The vulnerability demonstrates a failure in the principle of least privilege enforcement, where processes that should operate with minimal permissions are instead granted capabilities that enable unauthorized access to host resources.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations that utilize VMware Workstation or Player for development, testing, or personal virtualization purposes. The attack vector requires a malicious application to be executed by a user with standard privileges, but once successful, the attacker gains complete control over the host operating system. This represents a severe escalation from user-level access to system-level control, enabling potential data exfiltration, system compromise, and further lateral movement within network environments. The impact extends beyond individual machines to potentially affect entire organizational infrastructures if these vulnerable virtualization tools are widely deployed.
Security professionals should implement immediate mitigations including updating to the patched versions of VMware Workstation 8.0.5 and Player 4.0.5, which address the thread permission issues through proper access control mechanisms. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing application whitelisting policies to prevent execution of unauthorized applications that might exploit this vulnerability. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a privilege escalation technique, specifically involving process injection and thread manipulation tactics that bypass standard security controls. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual privilege escalation activities, and system administrators should conduct thorough inventory checks to identify all vulnerable installations within their environment. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of maintaining current security patches and the necessity of regular security assessments to identify similar permission-related flaws in virtualization software and other system components.