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                   VMware Security Advisory

Advisory ID: VMSA-2013-0010
Synopsis:    VMware Workstation host privilege escalation vulnerability
Issue date:  2013-08-22
Updated on:  2013-08-22 (initial advisory)
CVE numbers: CVE-2013-1662

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1. Summary

   VMware Workstation and VMware Player address a vulnerability in the
   vmware-mount component which could result in a privilege escalation
   on linux-based host machines.

2. Relevant releases

   VMware Workstation 9.x
   VMware Workstation 8.x
    
   VMware Player 5.x
   VMware Player 4.x

3. Problem Description

   a. VMware mount privilege escalation

      VMware Workstation and Player contain a vulnerability in the
      handling of the vmware-mount command. A local malicious user may
      exploit this vulnerability to escalate their privileges to root on
      the host OS. The issue is present when Workstation or Player are
      installed on a Debian-based version of Linux.

      The vulnerability does not allow for privilege escalation from the
      Guest Operating System to the host or vice-versa. This means that
      host memory can not be manipulated from the Guest Operating
      System.

      Workaround
      A workaround for the issue is to remove the setuid bit from
      vmware-mount:
     
      # chmod u-s /usr/bin/vmware-mount
     
      This workaround is relevant for both Workstation and Player.

      VMware would like to thank Tavis Ormandy from the Google Security
      Team for reporting this issue to us.

      The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org)
      has assigned the name CVE-2013-1662 to this issue.

      Column 4 of the following table lists the action required to
      remediate the vulnerability in each release, if a solution is
      available.

        VMware          Product   Running   Replace with/
        Product         Version   on        Apply Patch
        =============   =======   =======   =================
        Workstation     9.x       Linux *   See section 4. Solution
        Workstation     8.x       Linux *   See section 4. Solution
    
        Player          4.x       Linux *   See section 4. Solution
    Player          5.x       Linux *   See section 4. Solution
        
        Fusion          any       Mac/OS    Not affected
        
        ESXi            any       ESXi      Not affected
        
        ESX             any       ESX       Not affected

      * The issue is present if Workstation or Player is installed on a
        Debian-based version of Linux (e.g. Ubuntu).

4. Solution

   Please review the patch/release notes for your product and version
   and verify the checksum of your downloaded file.

   VMware Workstation 9.x, 8.x
   ---------------------------
   https://www.vmware.com/go/downloadworkstation     
   
   To remediate the issue, replace /usr/bin/vmware-mount on the host
   with a fixed version present in the Drivers and Tools tab of the
   download page for Workstation listed above.

   VMware Player 5.x, 4.x
   ---------------------------
   https://www.vmware.com/go/downloadplayer
   
   To remediate the issue, replace /usr/bin/vmware-mount on the host
   with a fixed version present in the Drivers and Tools tab of the
   download page for Player listed above.

5. References

   http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2013-1662

 
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6. Change log

   2013-08-22 VMSA-2013-0010
   Initial security advisory in conjunction with the release of
   an updated version of vmware-mount for Workstation 8 and
   Workstation 9 and Player 4 and Player 5.

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7. Contact

   E-mail list for product security notifications and announcements:
   http://lists.vmware.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/security-announce

   This Security Advisory is posted to the following lists:

   * security-announce at lists.vmware.com
   * bugtraq at securityfocus.com
   * full-disclosure at lists.grok.org.uk

   E-mail: security at vmware.com
   PGP key at: http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1055

   VMware Security Advisories
   http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories

   VMware security response policy
   http://www.vmware.com/support/policies/security_response.html

   General support life cycle policy
   http://www.vmware.com/support/policies/eos.html

   VMware Infrastructure support life cycle policy
   http://www.vmware.com/support/policies/eos_vi.html

   Copyright 2013 VMware Inc. All rights reserved.

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