# CVE-2009-2267: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Guest OS users can gain privileges by exploiting improper exception handling in Virtual-8086 mode within VMware virtualization products.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.9 (`AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 2 Nov 2009
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-r3rg-38gc-7x9q

## What is CVE-2009-2267?

CVE-2009-2267 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Vmware Esx, published on 2 Nov 2009. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

VMware Workstation 6.5.x before 6.5.3 build 185404, VMware Player 2.5.x before 2.5.3 build 185404, VMware ACE 2.5.x before 2.5.3 build 185404, VMware Server 1.x before 1.0.10 build 203137 and 2.x before 2.0.2 build 203138, VMware Fusion 2.x before 2.0.6 build 196839, VMware ESXi 3.5 and 4.0, and VMware ESX 2.5.5, 3.0.3, 3.5, and 4.0, when Virtual-8086 mode is used, do not properly set the exception code upon a page fault (aka #PF) exception, which allows guest OS users to gain privileges on the guest OS by specifying a crafted value for the cs register.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-2267?

It affects 7 products.


Products: Vmware Ace, Vmware Esx, Vmware Esxi, Vmware Fusion, Vmware Player, Vmware Server, Vmware Workstation.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-2267?

No fix has been published for CVE-2009-2267 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2009-2267 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-2267 exists.

Public exploit code:

- VMware Virtual 8086 - Linux Local Ring0 (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Vmware Esx

- [CVE-2009-3732](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-3732/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-3691](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3691/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-3692](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3692/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-3693](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3693/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-3694](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3694/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-2267 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-2267 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Vmware Esx, published on 2 Nov 2009. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-2267 exists.

Affected product: Vmware Esx. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2267/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2267/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-2267
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-2267
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-2267

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-2267/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.