CVE-2019-5524 in Workstation
Summary
by MITRE
VMware Workstation (14.x before 14.1.6) and Fusion (10.x before 10.1.6) contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the e1000 virtual network adapter. This issue may allow a guest to execute code on the host.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/21/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-5524 represents a critical out-of-bounds write flaw within the e1000 virtual network adapter implementation of VMware Workstation and Fusion products. This vulnerability exists in versions 14.x prior to 14.1.6 and 10.x prior to 10.1.6, creating a significant security risk for virtualized environments where guest operating systems can potentially exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized access to host systems. The e1000 network adapter is a widely used virtual network interface that emulates Intel's e1000 Ethernet controller, making this vulnerability particularly impactful across numerous virtualization deployments.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper bounds checking within the network adapter's packet processing routines. When a guest operating system sends specially crafted network packets to the virtualized e1000 adapter, the implementation fails to validate the packet data boundaries before writing to memory locations. This allows an attacker within the guest environment to manipulate memory layout and potentially overwrite critical data structures or execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the host system process. The flaw specifically manifests during network packet handling operations where insufficient input validation leads to memory corruption that can be exploited for privilege escalation.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-5524 extends beyond simple code execution, as it fundamentally undermines the security isolation that virtualization platforms are designed to provide. A successful exploitation could enable attackers to escape the guest environment and gain control over the host system, potentially compromising all virtual machines running on that host. This represents a severe violation of the hypervisor security model where guest systems should remain isolated from each other and from the host environment. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in multi-tenant environments or cloud deployments where multiple users share the same physical infrastructure, as it could allow one user to compromise the entire host system and potentially other virtual machines hosted on the same platform.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should prioritize immediate remediation through official VMware patches released in versions 14.1.6 and 10.1.6. The mitigation strategy should include comprehensive testing of patches in controlled environments before deployment to production systems. Security teams should also implement network monitoring to detect anomalous packet patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. From a defensive perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write, which is classified under the broader category of memory safety issues in software development. The attack vector described in this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.001 Command and Scripting Interpreter, where attackers leverage guest-to-host privilege escalation to execute malicious code. Additionally, the vulnerability demonstrates characteristics of T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation and T1133 External Remote Services, as it enables remote code execution through virtualized network interfaces. Organizations should consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit the potential impact of such vulnerabilities, while also maintaining regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify similar issues in other virtualization components.