#VU47748 Out-of-bounds read in VMware ESXi - CVE-2020-3981

Vulnerability identifier: #VU47748

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 4.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2020-3981

CWE-ID: CWE-125

Exploitation vector: Local network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
VMware ESXi
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: VMware, Inc

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to gain access to potentially sensitive information.

The vulnerability exists due to a boundary condition due to a time-of-check time-of-use issue in ACPI device within the implementation of the BDOOR_CMD_PATCH_ACPI_TABLES command. A remote administrator on a guest OS can run a specially crafted program to read memory from the vmx process.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

VMware ESXi: ESXi_7.0.0-1.20.16321839 - 7.0

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External links
https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2020-0023.html
https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1269/

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote authenticated privileged user via the local network (LAN).

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.