Database/Kernel, userspace & hypervisor
VMware vCenter Server: admin on the appliance shell can run arbitrary OS commands
Impact
An actor with administrative privileges on the vCenter appliance shell can run arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system, breaking out of the restricted appliance interface. The practical effect is a loss of the boundary between vCenter administration and OS-level control of the appliance: certificates, service accounts and the credentials vCenter uses to manage ESXi hosts become reachable. The privilege requirement is high, so this matters most where appliance-admin access is delegated more widely than OS root would be, or as a post-compromise step after another flaw.
Who can reach it
A network-reachable actor already holding administrative privileges on the vCenter appliance shell.
What to do
Apply the vCenter Server patches in Broadcom advisory VMSA-2024-0011; this is an appliance update and reboot, a management-plane maintenance window rather than a fleet drain. Broadcom lists no workaround. Treat appliance-admin accounts as root-equivalent in the meantime.
References
Related entries
- IBM Spectrum Scale kernel module: An unauthenticated local trigger takes down the Spectrum Scale kernel module and withCVE-2020-4411 · IBM Spectrum Scale kernel moduleHigh
- Xen - x86 IOMMU command timeout detection and handling: Xen's IOMMU command timeout handling is inappropriate, so IOMMUCVE-2021-28692 · Xen - x86 IOMMU command timeout detection and handlingHigh
- Linux kernel amdkfd (KFD compute driver, /dev/kfd) (drm/amdkfd): An out-of-bounds access in the amdkfd (KFD computeCVE-2021-4460 · Linux kernel amdkfd (KFD compute driver, /dev/kfd) (drm/amdkfd)High
- Xen (x86): Unintended memory sharing between guests - cross-tenant data exposureCVE-2022-42327 · Xen (x86)High
- Linux KVM SVM: SEV ioctls return uninitialized kernel slab memory to the callerCVE-2022-49556 · Linux kernel KVM SVM (SEV ioctl buffers)High
- Linux kernel (arch/x86/kvm): A guest that is not advertised long mode makes the host's SMM emulator walk 16CVE-2022-49883 · Linux kernel (arch/x86/kvm)High
This entry is curated: imported from vendor advisories with machine assistance, not yet individually verified. Confirm against your vendor's advisory before acting, and report anything wrong.