VMware has released a critical security advisory, VMSA-2024-0012, highlighting multiple vulnerabilities in its vCenter Server, an essential component of VMware vSphere and VMware Cloud Foundation products. These vulnerabilities, if exploited, could enable attackers to execute remote code on the affected systems. Among the critical issues are heap overflow and local privilege escalation vulnerabilities, specifically identified as CVE-2024-37079, CVE-2024-37080, and CVE-2024-37081.
The heap overflow vulnerabilities (CVE-2024-37079 and CVE-2024-37080) are particularly severe, with a maximum CVSSv3 base score of 9.8. These vulnerabilities arise from the implementation of the DCERPC protocol within the vCenter Server. Attackers with network access can exploit these flaws by sending specially crafted packets, potentially leading to remote code execution.
Additionally, a local privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2024-37081) exists due to a misconfiguration of sudo in vCenter Server. This flaw, with a CVSSv3 base score of 7.8, allows an authenticated local user with non-administrative privileges to elevate their privileges to root. VMware has released patches to address these vulnerabilities, and users are strongly advised to apply the updates promptly.
To ensure the successful application of patches, organizations should verify their vCenter Server systems by accessing the Appliance Shell and using specific commands to list installed patches. Alternatively, users can utilize the vCenter Server Management Interface (VAMI) to check the status of updates. Following these steps will help organizations confirm that their systems are secure and up-to-date, mitigating the risks associated with these critical vulnerabilities.
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