CVE-2017-4941 Memory corruption in ESXi
An authenticated VNC user can trigger a stack overflow to execute arbitrary code in a virtual machine, requiring VNC to be manually enabled and firewall rules adjusted.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2017-4941?
CVE-2017-4941 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Vmware Esxi, published on 20 Dec 2017. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
VMware ESXi (6.0 before ESXi600-201711101-SG, 5.5 ESXi550-201709101-SG), Workstation (12.x before 12.5.8), and Fusion (8.x before 8.5.9) contain a vulnerability that could allow an authenticated VNC session to cause a stack overflow via a specific set of VNC packets. Successful exploitation of this issue could result in remote code execution in a virtual machine via the authenticated VNC session. Note: In order for exploitation to be possible in ESXi, VNC must be manually enabled in a virtual machine's .vmx configuration file. In addition, ESXi must be configured to allow VNC traffic through the built-in firewall.
Weakness: CWE-119
Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-4941?
It affects 3 products.
Products include Vmware Esxi, Vmware Fusion, Vmware Workstation.
How do I fix CVE-2017-4941?
No fix has been published for CVE-2017-4941 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2017-4941 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-4941 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Vmware Esxi
Sources
Also known as GHSA-9hmp-hj7f-46vm.