VMSA-2019-0011:ESXi patches address partial denial of service vulnerability in hostd process
VMware Security Advisories
| Advisory ID | VMSA-2019-0011.1 |
| Advisory Severity | Moderate |
| CVSSv3 Range | 5.3 |
| Synopsis | ESXi patches address partial denial of service vulnerability in hostd process (CVE-2019-5528) |
| Issue Date | 2019-07-09 |
| Updated On | 2019-09-03 |
| CVE(s) | CVE-2019-5528 |
1. Impacted Products
- ESXi
2. Introduction
A partial denial of service vulnerability in ESXi was reported to VMware Security Response. Patches and workarounds are currently available to remediate or workaround this vulnerability.
3. Partial denial of service vulnerability in ESXi hostd process (CVE-2019-5528)
Description:
Multiple failed login attempts to ESXi may cause the hostd service to become unresponsive resulting in a partial denial of service for management functionality. VMware has evaluated the severity of this issue to be in the Moderate severity range with a maximum CVSSv3 base score of 5.3.
Known Attack Vectors:
A malicious actor with network access to an ESXi host could create a partial denial of service condition in management functionality. Successful exploitation of this issue may cause hostd to become unresponsive resulting in conditions such as an ESXi host disconnecting from vCenter.
Resolution:
To remediate this vulnerability, apply the patches listed in the 'Fixed Version' column of the 'Resolution Matrix' found below.
Workarounds:
Workarounds are available for this issue, follow the instructions in the documents linked in the 'Workarounds' section found below.
Additional Documentations:
None.
Acknowledgements:
None.
Notes:
- If hostd becomes unresponsive due to CVE-2019-5528 the condition can be cleared by restarting the hostd service, it is not necessary to reboot the ESXi host.
- Vulnerability scanners have been reported to trigger this vulnerability via multiple failed login attempts to ESXi.
Response Matrix:
| Product | Version | Running On | CVE Identifier | CVSSV3 | Severity | Fixed Version | Workarounds | Additional Documents |
| ESXi | 6.7 | Any | CVE-2019-5528 | 5.3 | Moderate | ESXi670-201908201-UG | kb67920 | None |
| ESXi | 6.5 | Any | CVE-2019-5528 | 5.3 | Moderate | ESXi650-201907201-UG | kb67920 | None |
| ESXi | 6.0 | Any | CVE-2019-5528 | N/A | N/A | Unaffected | N/A | N/A |
4. References
Mitre CVE Dictionary Links:
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2019-5528
Fixed Version(s) and Release Notes:
ESXi670-201908201-UG:
Downloads:
https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/patch
Documentation:
https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.7/rn/vsphere-esxi-67u3-release-notes.html
ESXi650-201907201-UG:
Downloads:
https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/patch
Documentation:
https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/rn/vsphere-esxi-65u3-release-notes.html
Workarounds:
5. Change log
2019-07-09: VMSA-2019-0011
Initial security advisory detailing remediations and workarounds available for ESXi.
2019-09-03: VMSA-2019-0011.1
Updated security advisory detailing ESXi 6.7 remediation information.
6. Contact
E-mail list for product security notifications and announcements:
https://lists.vmware.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/security-announce
This Security Advisory is posted to the following lists:
E-mail: [email protected]
PGP key at:
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VMware Security Response Policy
https://www.vmware.com/support/policies/security_response.html
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https://www.vmware.com/support/policies/lifecycle.html
VMware Security & Compliance Blog
https://blogs.vmware.com/security
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