Advisory Details

November 25th, 2020

VMware ESXi SLP Use-After-Free Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

ZDI-20-1385
ZDI-CAN-12409

CVE ID CVE-2020-3992
CVSS SCORE 7.8, AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
AFFECTED VENDORS VMware
AFFECTED PRODUCTS ESXi
VULNERABILITY DETAILS

This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of VMware ESXi. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability.

The specific flaw exists within the processing of SLP messages. The issue results from the lack of validating the existence of an object prior to performing operations on the object. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of root.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS VMware has issued an update to correct this vulnerability. More details can be found at:
https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2020-0023.html
DISCLOSURE TIMELINE
  • 2020-11-13 - Vulnerability reported to vendor
  • 2020-11-25 - Coordinated public release of advisory
CREDIT Lucas Leong (@_wmliang_) of Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative
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