VMware Products Could Allow for Remote Code Execution

Fortify Security Team
Apr 7, 2022

Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in VMware Products, the most severe of which could result in remote code execution.

  • VMware Workspace ONE Access is an access control application for Workspace ONE.
  • VMware Identity Manager is the identity and access management component of Workspace ONE.
  • vRealize Automation is a management platform for automating the delivery of container-based applications.
  • VMware Cloud Foundation is a hybrid cloud platform that provides a set of software-defined services for compute, storage, networking, security and cloud management to run enterprise apps.
  • vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager allows for complete lifecycle and content management capabilities for vRealize Suite products.

Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could result in arbitrary code execution within the context of the application, an attacker gaining the same privileges as the logged-on user, or the bypassing of security restrictions. Depending on the permission associated with the application running the exploit, an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data.

THREAT INTELLIGENCE: There are currently no reports of these vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild.

SYSTEMS AFFECTED:

  • VMware Workspace ONE Access 21.08.0.1, 21.08.0.0, 20.10.0.1, 20.10.0.0
  • VMware Identity Manager 3.3.3, 3.3.4, 3.3.5, 3.3.6
  • VMware vRealize Automation 7.6, 8.x
  • VMware Cloud Foundation 4.x, 3.x
  • vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager 8.x

RISK:
Government:

  • Large and medium government entities: High
  • Small government entities: Medium

Businesses:

  • Large and medium business entities: High
  • Small business entities: Medium

Home users: Low

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:

Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in VMware Products, the most severe of which could result in remote code execution.  Details of these vulnerabilities are as follows:

  • A malicious actor with network access can trigger a server-side template injection that may result in remote code execution. (CVE-2022-22954)
  • A malicious actor may bypass the authentication mechanism and execute any operation due to exposed endpoints in the authentication framework. (CVE-2022-22955, CVE-2022-22956)
  • A malicious actor with administrative access can trigger deserialization of untrusted data through malicious JDBC URI which may result in remote code execution. (CVE-2022-22957, CVE-2022-22958)
  • A malicious actor can trick a user through a cross site request forgery to unintentionally validate a malicious JDBC URI. (CVE-2022-22959)
  • A malicious actor with local access can escalate privileges to ‘root’.  (CVE-2022-22960)
  • A malicious actor with remote access may leak the hostname of the target system. Successful exploitation of this issue can lead to targeting victims. (CVE-2021-22012, CVE-2021-22013)
  • An attacker may exploit this issue to execute malicious scripts by tricking a victim into clicking a malicious link. (CVE-2022-22961)

Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could result in arbitrary code execution within the context of the application, an attacker gaining the same privileges as the logged-on user, or the bypassing of security restrictions. Depending on the permission associated with the application running the exploit, an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data

RECOMMENDATIONS:

We recommend the following actions be taken:

  • Apply appropriate updates provided by VMware to vulnerable systems immediately after appropriate testing.
  • Verify host has not been compromised before applying patches
  • Restrict network access to TCP port 443 to authorized hosts or accessible through a VPN
  • Run all software as a non-privileged user (one without administrative privileges) to diminish the effects of a successful attack.
  • Remind users not to visit un-trusted websites or follow links provided by unknown or un-trusted sources.
  • Inform and educate users regarding the threats posed by hypertext links contained in emails or attachments especially from un-trusted sources.
  • Apply the Principle of Least Privilege to all systems and services.

REFERENCES:
VMware:
https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2022-0011.html
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/88099
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/88098

CVE:
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2022-22954
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2022-22955
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2022-22956
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2022-22957
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2022-22958
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2022-22959
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2022-22960
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2022-22961

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