# CVE-2011-1789: Supply chain in n/a

> Attackers can distribute Trojan horse installers because the vSphere Client installer lacks a digital signature, requiring user interaction to execute.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 May 2011
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3qx7-92qm-xvhr

## What is CVE-2011-1789?

CVE-2011-1789 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Vmware Esx, published on 9 May 2011. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

The self-extracting installer in the vSphere Client Installer package in VMware vCenter 4.0 before Update 3 and 4.1 before Update 1, VMware ESXi 4.x before 4.1 Update 1, and VMware ESX 4.x before 4.1 Update 1 does not have a digital signature, which might make it easier for remote attackers to spoof the software distribution via a Trojan horse installer.

Weakness: CWE-310

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2011-1789?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Vmware Esx, Vmware Esxi, Vmware Vcenter.

## How do I fix CVE-2011-1789?

No fix has been published for CVE-2011-1789 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2011-1789 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2011-1789 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Vmware Esx

- [CVE-2013-1405](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-1405/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2012-1516](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1516/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2013-3658](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3658/): Path traversal in n/a (critical 9.4)
- [CVE-2012-3288](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-3288/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2008-4281](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-4281/): Path traversal in n/a (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2011-1789 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2011-1789 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Vmware Esx, published on 9 May 2011. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2011-1789 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2011-1789/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-1789/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-1789
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-1789
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2011-1789

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-1789/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.