VMSA-2014-0003:VMware vSphere Client updates address security vulnerabilities
VMSA-2014-0003
VMware vSphere Client updates address security vulnerabilities
VMware Security Advisory
1. Summary
VMware vSphere Client updates address security vulnerabilities
2. Relevant Releases
vSphere Client 5.1
vSphere Client 5.0
vSphere Client 4.1
vSphere Client 4.0
3. Problem Description
a. vSphere Client Insecure Client Download
vSphere Client contains a vulnerability in accepting an updated vSphere Client file from an untrusted source. The vulnerability may allow a host to direct vSphere Client to download and execute an arbitrary file from any URI. This issue can be exploited if the host has been compromised or if a user has been tricked into clicking a malicious link.
VMware would like to thank Recurity Labs GmbH and the Bundesamt Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI) for reporting this issue to us
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2014-1209 to this issue.
Column 4 of the following table lists the action required to remediate the vulnerability in each release, if a solution is available.
VMware Product
Product Version
Running on
Replace with / Apply Patch
ESX/EXSi 4.1 (see section 4)
ESX/EXSi 4.0 (see section 4)
Known Issue
Under certain circumstances a user may see a warning dialogue box appear prior to downloading the vSphere Client. The warning dialogue box may appear when connecting to a different vCenter Server version that the vSphere Client was intended for. This issue is documented in VMware Knowledge Base article 2074148.
b. VMware vSphere Client spoofing vulnerability
VMware vSphere Client contains a vulnerability in the validation of the server security certificate. Exploitation of the issue may lead to vCenter server being spoofed. A user would have to be tricked into clicking a malicious link.
VMware would like to thank Recurity Labs GmbH and the Bundesamt Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI) for reporting this issue to us
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2014-1210 to this issue.
Column 4 of the following table lists the action required to remediate the vulnerability in each release, if a solution is available.
VMware Product
Product Version
Running on
Replace with / Apply Patch
Known Issue
Under certain circumstances a user may see a warning dialogue box appear prior to downloading the vSphere Client. The warning dialogue box may appear when connecting to a different vCenter Server version that the vSphere Client was intended for. This issue is documented in VMware Knowledge Base article 2074148.
4. Solution
Please review the patch/release notes for your product and version and verify the checksum of your downloaded file.
vSphere Client 5.1 Update 2
vSphere Client 5.1 Update 2 may be obtained by pointing to vCenter Server 5.1 Update 2. vCenter Server 5.1 Update 2 links provided below.
vSphere Client 5.0 Update 3
vSphere Client 5.0 Update 3 may be obtained by pointing to vCenter Server 5.0 Update 3. vCenter Server 5.0 Update 3 links provided below.
vSphere Client 4.0 and 4.1
vSphere Client 4.0 and 4.1 may be obtained by pointing to ESX/ESXi 4.0 and 4.1 after installing the following patches:
ESXi 4.1 patch ESXi410-201404401-SG
ESXi 4.0 patch ESXi400-201404402-SG
ESX 4.1 patch ESX410-201404401-SG
ESX 4.0 patch ESX400-201404401-SG
Alternatively vSphere Client may be downloaded from https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/downloads directly.
vCenter Server 5.1 U2
Download link:
https://downloads.vmware.com/d/info/datacenter_cloud_infrastructure/vmware_vsphere/5_1
vCenter Server 5.0 U3
Download link:
https://downloads.vmware.com/d/info/datacenter_cloud_infrastructure/vmware_vsphere/5_0
ESXi and ESX
https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/downloads
ESXi 4.1
File: ESXi410-201404001.zip
md5sum: bc4a5963fd9aace6b43e8c96f66a0536
sha1sum: f80a7a33f7d5e5cd22a7d2cbd65b0cc056cff745
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2072477
ESXi410-201403001.zip contains ESXi410-201404401-SG
ESXi 4.0
File: ESXi400-201404001.zip
md5sum: c10a17635fa4a5ffa4971d0437494488
sha1sum: e2f5bc165aef118257d498ff1a9ecba74b2c648e
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2068805
ESXi400-201404001.zip contains ESXi400-201402402-SG
ESX 4.1
File: ESX410-201404001.zip
md5sum: 320ce06e2ef68def3ba278b87c0f3104
sha1sum: 5db78957208902b922a29976296cc5d948dbc1d7
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2072476
ESX410-201404001.zip contains ESX410-201404401-SG
ESX 4.0
File: ESX400-201404001.zip
md5sum: a1f984a3d224dc35bdb450530167476f
sha1sum: 14a1612d99998df3fa5ef88956ac730de7d594fe
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2068798
ESX400-201404001.zip contains ESX400-201404401-SG
5. References
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2014-1209
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2014-1210
VMware Knowledge Base article 2074148.
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2074148
6. Change log
2014-04-10 VMSA-2014-0003
Initial security advisory in conjunction with the release of vSphere Client 4.0 and 4.1 updates on 2014-04-10
7. Contact
E-mail list for product security notifications and announcements:
http://lists.vmware.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/security-announce
This Security Advisory is posted to the following lists:
* security-announce at lists.vmware.com
* bugtraq at securityfocus.com
* fulldisclosure at seclists.org
E-mail: security at vmware.com
PGP key at: http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1055
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Twitter
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