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VMSA-2018-0027

VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion updates address uninitialized stack memory usage.

VMware Security Advisory

VMware Security Advisory Advisory ID:

VMSA-2018-0027

VMware Security Advisory Severity:

Critical

VMware Security Advisory Synopsis:

VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion updates address uninitialized stack memory usage

VMware Security Advisory Issue date:

2018-11-09

VMware Security Advisory Updated on:

2018-11-09 (Initial Advisory)

VMware Security Advisory CVE numbers:

CVE-2018-6981, CVE-2018-6982

1. Summary

VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion updates address uninitialized stack memory usage.

2. Relevant Products

VMware vSphere ESXi (ESXi)
VMware Workstation Pro / Player (Workstation)
VMware Fusion Pro, Fusion (Fusion)

3. Problem Description

a. vmxnet3 uninitialized stack memory usage

VMware ESXi, Fusion and Workstation contain uninitialized stack memory usage in the vmxnet3 virtual network adapter. This issue may allow a guest to execute code on the host. The issue is present if vmxnet3 is enabled. Non vmxnet3 virtual adapters are not affected by this issue.

VMware would like to thank the organizers of GeekPwn2018 and security researchers Zhangyanyu of Chaitin Tech and SmallerDragon for reporting this issue to us.

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the identifier CVE-2018-6981 to this issue.

Column 5 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

Severity

Replace with/ Apply Patch

Mitigation/ Workaround

VMware ProductESXi

Product Version6.7

Running on ESXi

SeverityCritical

Replace with/ Apply PatchESXi670-201811401-BG

Mitigation/ WorkaroundNone

VMware ProductESXi

Product Version6.5

Running on ESXi

SeverityCritical

Replace with/ Apply PatchESXi650-201811301-BG

Mitigation/ WorkaroundNone

VMware ProductESXi

Product Version6.0

Running on ESXi

SeverityCritical

Replace with/ Apply PatchESXi600-201811401-BG

Mitigation/ WorkaroundNone

VMware ProductWorkstation

Product Version15.x

Running on Any

SeverityCritical

Replace with/ Apply Patch15.0.1

Mitigation/ WorkaroundNone

VMware ProductWorkstation

Product Version14.x

Running on Any

SeverityCritical

Replace with/ Apply Patch14.1.4

Mitigation/ WorkaroundNone

VMware ProductFusion

Product Version11.x

Running on OS X

SeverityCritical

Replace with/ Apply Patch11.0.1

Mitigation/ WorkaroundNone

VMware ProductFusion

Product Version10.x

Running on OS X

SeverityCritical

Replace with/ Apply Patch10.1.4

Mitigation/ WorkaroundNone

b. vmxnet3 uninitialized stack memory usage

VMware ESXi, Fusion and Workstation contain uninitialized stack memory usage in the vmxnet3 virtual network adapter. This issue may lead to an information leak from host to guest. The issue is present if vmxnet3 is enabled. Non vmxnet3 virtual adapters are not affected by this issue.

VMware would like to thank the organizers of GeekPwn2018 and security researcher Zhangyanyu of Chaitin Tech for reporting this issue to us.

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the identifier CVE-2018-6982 to this issue.

Column 5 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

Severity

Replace with/ Apply Patch

Mitigation/ Workaround

VMware ProductESXi

Product Version6.7

Running on ESXi

SeverityImportant

Replace with/ Apply PatchESXi670-201811401-BG

Mitigation/ WorkaroundNone

VMware ProductESXi

Product Version6.5

Running on ESXi

SeverityImportant

Replace with/ Apply PatchESXi650-201811301-BG

Mitigation/ WorkaroundNone

VMware ProductESXi

Product Version6.0

Running on ESXi

SeverityN/A

Replace with/ Apply PatchNot affected

Mitigation/ WorkaroundN/A

VMware ProductWorkstation

Product VersionAny

Running on Any

SeverityN/A

Replace with/ Apply PatchNot affected

Mitigation/ WorkaroundN/A

VMware ProductFusion

Product VersionAny

Running on OS X

SeverityN/A

Replace with/ Apply PatchNot affected

Mitigation/ WorkaroundN/A

4. Solution

Please review the patch/release notes for your product and version and verify the checksum of your downloaded file.

   ESXi 6.7
   -------------
   Downloads:
   https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/patch
   Documentation:
   https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.7/rn/esxi670-201811001.html

   ESXi 6.5
   -------------
   Downloads:
   https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/patch
   Documentation:
   https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/rn/esxi650-201811001.html

   ESXi 6.0
   -------------
   Downloads:
   https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/patch
   Documentation:
   https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.0/rn/esxi600-201811001.html

   VMware Workstation Pro 14.1.4, 15.0.1
   Downloads and Documentation:
   https://www.vmware.com/go/downloadworkstation
   https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Workstation-Pro/index.html

   VMware Workstation Player 14.1.4, 15.0.1
   Downloads and Documentation:
   https://www.vmware.com/go/downloadplayer
   https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Workstation-Player/index.html

   VMware Fusion Pro / Fusion 10.1.4, 11.0.1
   Downloads and Documentation:
   https://www.vmware.com/go/downloadfusion
   https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Fusion/index.html

5. References

https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-6981
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-6982

6. Change log

VMSA-2018-0027 2018-11-09
Initial security advisory in conjunction with the release of ESXi 6.0, 6.5, 6.7 patches and VMware Workstation 14.1.4, 15.0.1 and Fusion 10.1.4, 11.0.1 on 2018-11-09.