VMSA-2018-0002:VMware ESXi, Workstation and Fusion updates address side-channel analysis due to speculative execution.
23530
01 January 2018
01 January 2018
CLOSED
HIGH
CVE-2017-5753,CVE-2017-5715
VMSA-2018-0002.3
VMware ESXi, Workstation and Fusion updates address side-channel analysis due to speculative execution.
VMware Security Advisory
1. Summary
VMware ESXi, Workstation and Fusion updates address side-channel analysis due to speculative execution.
Note:
This document will focus on the Hypervisor-Specific Mitigations for the known variants of CVE-2017-5753 and CVE-2017-5715. Please review KB52245 for a holistic view on VMware’s response.
2. Relevant Products
- VMware vSphere ESXi (ESXi)
- VMware Workstation Pro / Player (Workstation)
- VMware Fusion Pro / Fusion (Fusion)
3. Problem Description
Bounds-Check bypass and Branch Target Injection issues
CPU data cache timing can be abused to efficiently leak information out of mis-speculated CPU execution, leading to (at worst) arbitrary virtual memory read vulnerabilities across local security boundaries in various contexts. (Speculative execution is an automatic and inherent CPU performance optimization used in all modern processors.) ESXi, Workstation and Fusion are vulnerable to Bounds Check Bypass and Branch Target Injection issues resulting from this vulnerability.
Result of exploitation may allow for information disclosure from one Virtual Machine to another Virtual Machine that is running on the same host.
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the identifiers CVE-2017-5753 (Bounds Check bypass) and CVE-2017-5715 (Branch Target Injection) to these issues.
Column 5 of the following table lists the action required to remediate the observed vulnerability in each release, if a solution is available.
VMware Product
Product Version
Running on
Severity
Replace with/ Apply Patch
Mitigation/ Workaround
*ESXi550-201801301-BG does NOT include the unstable microcode mentioned in KB52345 and mitigates both CVE-2017-5753 and CVE-2017-5715. This patch is not applicable if a host has already applied the ESXi550-201801401-BG patch.
4. Solution
Please review the patch/release notes for your product and version and verify the checksum of your downloaded file.
VMware ESXi 6.5
Downloads:
https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/patch
Documentation:
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2151099
VMware ESXi 6.0
Downloads:
https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/patch
Documentation:
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2151132
VMware ESXi 5.5
Downloads:
https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/patch
Documentation:
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/52406
VMware Workstation Pro, Player 12.5.8
Downloads and Documentation:
https://www.vmware.com/go/downloadworkstation
https://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/ws_pubs.html
VMware Fusion Pro / Fusion 8.5.9
Downloads and Documentation:
https://www.vmware.com/go/downloadfusion
https://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/fusion_pubs.html
6. Change log
2018-01-03
VMSA-2018-0002
Initial security advisory
2018-01-09
VMSA-2018-0002.1
Updated security advisory after release of ESXi 5.5 patch (ESXi550-201801401-BG) that has mitigation against both CVE-2017-5753 and CVE-2017-5715 on 2018-01-09.
2018-01-13
VMSA-2018-0002.2
Updated security advisory with microcode information found in KB52345. Removed ESXi550-201801401-BG patch.
2018-01-22
VMSA-2018-0002.3
Updated security advisory after release of ESXi 5.5 patch ESXi550-201801301-BG that has mitigation against both CVE-2017-5753 and CVE-2017-5715 on 2018-01-22. This patch does NOT include the unstable microcode mentioned in KB52345.
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:
E-mail: [email protected]
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