VMware has released security patches to address two critical vulnerabilities in VMware Tools, its suite of utilities for managing virtual machines. The vulnerabilities, CVE-2023-34057 and CVE-2023-34058, can be exploited by attackers to escalate privileges or bypass SAML token signatures.
VMware Tools is a suite of utilities that enhances the performance of virtual machines and improves their management. It is installed on the guest operating system and provides a number of features, such as enhanced performance for graphics, networking, and storage, better integration with the VMware hypervisor, and improved manageability.
CVE-2023-34057 (CVSSv3 7.8): Local privilege escalation vulnerability in VMware Tools (macOS)
Virtualization enthusiasts and macOS users need to be especially vigilant. A local privilege escalation vulnerability has been discovered in VMware Tools, specifically targeting the macOS operating system. In layman’s terms, this means that a malicious actor with mere local user access to a guest virtual machine can manipulate this vulnerability to elevate their privileges inside that VM.
Affected Versions: VMware Tools 12.x.x, 11.x.x, 10.3.x on macOS
Resolution: VMware has swiftly addressed this issue, releasing a patch in the 12.1.1 version of VMware Tools. Users are strongly advised to update to this version to mitigate potential risks.
CVE-2023-34058 (CVSSv3 7.5): SAML Token Signature Bypass vulnerability in VMware Tools
The next vulnerability primarily affects VMware Tools on Windows OS. Dubbed a ‘SAML token signature bypass vulnerability,’ it presents a unique challenge. If a malicious actor is assigned Guest Operation Privileges in a target VM, they can exploit this vulnerability to elevate their privileges, especially if the target VM has a more privileged Guest Alias.
Worryingly, this vulnerability doesn’t just plague VMware Tools. Open-vm-tools, another variant, is also impacted.
Affected Versions: VMware Tools 12.x.x, 11.x.x, 10.3.x on Windows
Resolution: Recognizing the severity of the issue, VMware has released a patch in the 12.3.5 version of VMware Tools. Users, especially those running VMs on Windows, are recommended to promptly update to this version.
What you can do to protect yourself
VMware has released security patches for both of these vulnerabilities. It is important to install these patches on all of your virtual machines as soon as possible.
