Horizon Alert
Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters
VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion are affected by a vulnerability related to an out-of-bounds read in HGFS. This flaw could allow a malicious actor with administrative access within a virtual machine to extract memory contents from the vmx process. The potential impact is the disclosure of sensitive memory data, which could inform further malicious activities.
- VMware ESXi, Workstation, Fusion
- Out-of-bounds read in HGFS
- Information disclosure from memory
Attack Path
How an attacker could exploit the issue
This vulnerability allows an attacker with administrative control over a virtual machine to potentially access sensitive memory from the VMX process. This occurs due to an out-of-bounds read vulnerability within the HGFS component of affected VMware products. Successful exploitation could lead to the disclosure of information that attackers might use for further malicious activities.
- Requires administrative access to VM.
- Attacker reads VM memory.
- Information disclosure occurs.
Live Threat
Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context
This vulnerability affects VMware products, including ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion, and allows for information disclosure. An attacker with administrative access to a virtual machine could potentially read memory from the `vmx` process. This could expose sensitive information, presenting a risk to the confidentiality of data. The CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog lists this CVE, indicating it is a target of active exploitation.
- Attackers need administrative VM access.
- Exploitability requires specific VM conditions.
- Potential for data exposure and business risk.
Priority actions
Operational Fix
Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps
This vulnerability in VMware products could allow a threat actor with administrative privileges within a virtual machine to leak memory from the vmx process. This impacts the confidentiality of system memory, potentially exposing sensitive data. The vulnerability is classified as internal, meaning it requires existing administrative access to the virtual machine to be exploited.
- Identify virtual machines with administrative access.
- Limit administrative access to virtual machines.
- Apply vendor updates and verify remediation.
- Monitor for unusual memory access patterns.
