Vulnerability identifier: #VU47748

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv3.1: 5.4 [CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

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: 6.5 - ESXi_7.0.0-1.20.16321839

---

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

---

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.