Critical 9.8-rated VMware vCenter RCE bug under exploit • The Register

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srcset="/design_picker/f5daacc84b9722c1e31ba85f836c37e4ad993fc4/graphics/icons/bubble_comment_white.svg"> </a> </div> </div> <div class="header_right"> <h1>Critical 9.8-rated VMware vCenter RCE bug exploited after patch fumble</h1> </div> <div class="header_left"> <div class="comments_wrap desktop_only"> <a class="comment_count" aria-label="Read comments on this article, currently there are 4 comments" title="View comments on this article" href="https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2024/11/18/vmware_vcenter_rce_exploited/"> <strong aria-hidden="true">4</strong> <img aria-hidden="true" width="18" height="16" alt="comment bubble on white" src="/design_picker/f5daacc84b9722c1e31ba85f836c37e4ad993fc4/graphics/icons/bubble_comment_white.png" srcset="/design_picker/f5daacc84b9722c1e31ba85f836c37e4ad993fc4/graphics/icons/bubble_comment_white.svg"> </a> </div> </div> <div class="header_right"> <h2>If you didn't fix this a month ago, your to-do list probably needs a reshuffle</h2> <div class="byline_and_dateline_and_share_and_comments"> <div class="byline_wrap"> <img class="vulture_icon" src="/design_picker/d518b499f8a6e2c65d4d8c49aca8299d54b03012/graphics/icon/vulture_red.svg" alt="icon"> <a class="byline" href="/Author/Jessica-Lyons" title="Read more by this author"> Jessica Lyons </a> </div> <div class="dateline_wrap"> <span class="dateline"> Mon 18 Nov 2024 <span class="slashes"> // </span> 22:29 UTC </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id=main-col> <div id="article-wrapper" class="article_wrap"> <div class="left_col"> <div class="floating_bar"> <div class="sharing_widget_story_desktop uses_overlay"> <button class="top_blob" aria-label="Share this story" title="Share this story"> <img width="25" height="25" src="/design_picker/d2e337b97204af4aa34dda04c4e5d56d954b216f/graphics/icons/social_share_icon.svg" alt=""> </button> <div class="sharing_widget_overlay" id="sharing_widget_overlay_2"> <div class="sharing_box"> <a data-social="reddit" href="https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/18/vmware_vcenter_rce_exploited/%3futm_medium%3dshare%26utm_content%3darticle%26utm_source%3dreddit&title=Critical%209.8-rated%20VMware%20vCenter%20RCE%20bug%20exploited%20after%20patch%20fumble" target="_blank"> </a> <a data-social="twitter" class="twit" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Critical%209.8-rated%20VMware%20vCenter%20RCE%20bug%20exploited%20after%20patch%20fumble&url=https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/18/vmware_vcenter_rce_exploited/%3futm_medium%3dshare%26utm_content%3darticle%26utm_source%3dtwitter&via=theregister" target="_blank"> </a> <a data-social="facebook" class="faceb_dialog" href="https://www.facebook.com/dialog/feed?app_id=1404095453459035&display=popup&link=https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/18/vmware_vcenter_rce_exploited/%3futm_medium%3dshare%26utm_content%3darticle%26utm_source%3dfacebook" target="_blank"> </a> <br class="hide_after_sm"> <a data-social="linkedin" class="linkedin_social" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/18/vmware_vcenter_rce_exploited/%3futm_medium%3dshare%26utm_content%3darticle%26utm_source%3dlinkedin&title=Critical%209.8-rated%20VMware%20vCenter%20RCE%20bug%20exploited%20after%20patch%20fumble&summary=If%20you%20didn%27t%20fix%20this%20a%20month%20ago%2c%20your%20to-do%20list%20probably%20needs%20a%20reshuffle" target="_blank"> </a> <a data-social="whatsapp" href="https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/18/vmware_vcenter_rce_exploited/%3futm_medium%3dshare%26utm_content%3darticle%26utm_source%3dwhatsapp" target="_blank"> </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="promo_advert"> </div> </div> <div class="centre_col"> <div id="article"> <div id="body"> <p>Two VMware vCenter server bugs, including a critical heap-overflow vulnerability that leads to remote code execution (RCE), have been exploited in attacks after Broadcom’s first attempt to fix the flaws fell short.</p> <p>Broadcom first patched the two flaws - CVE-2024-38812 and CVE-2024-38813 – on September 17th, but then issued an October update to the original patches after <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/22/vmware_rce_vcenter_bugs/">admitting</a> its initial effort "did not completely address" either vulnerability.</p> <p>At the time Broadcom issued the second patch for both vCenter holes, the vendor assured customers it was “not currently aware of exploitation 'in the wild.'"</p> <div aria-hidden="true" class="adun" data-pos="top" data-raptor="condor" data-xsm=",fluid,mpu," data-sm=",fluid,mpu," data-md=",fluid,mpu,"> <noscript> <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/virtualization&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z0fXIop0bT2mC0zlRIewfAAAAFQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/virtualization&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z0fXIop0bT2mC0zlRIewfAAAAFQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> </noscript> </div> <p>On Monday, Broadcom published an <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/24968e">alert</a> in which it "confirmed that exploitation has occurred in the wild" for both flaws.</p> <div aria-hidden="true" class="adun" data-pos="top" data-raptor="falcon" data-xmd=",fluid,mpu,leaderboard," data-lg=",fluid,mpu,leaderboard," data-xlg=",fluid,billboard,superleaderboard,mpu,leaderboard," data-xxlg=",fluid,billboard,superleaderboard,brandwidth,brandimpact,leaderboard,mpu,"> <noscript> <a 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href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/virtualization&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z0fXIop0bT2mC0zlRIewfAAAAFQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/virtualization&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z0fXIop0bT2mC0zlRIewfAAAAFQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> </noscript> </div> </div> <p><em>The Register</em> has asked Broadcom for info on the extent of the attacks and any intelligence on the perpetrators but have not received a response at the time of writing.</p> <p>vCenter is a juicy target for crims because it is the tool admins use to manage fleets of virtual machines – and some orgs operate thousands of them. All manner of miscreants therefore love a VMware security hole. In the past we’ve seen <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theregister.com/2024/07/30/make_me_admin_esxi_flaw/">ransomware gangs</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/20/chinese_russia_vmware_microsoft/">nation-state crews</a> target VMware flaws, suggesting these fixes deserve urgent attention.</p> <ul class="listinks"> <li><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/22/vmware_rce_vcenter_bugs/">VMware fixes critical RCE, make-me-root bugs in vCenter - for the second time</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/17/vmware_vcenter_patch/">VMware patches remote make-me-root holes in vCenter Server, Cloud Foundation</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/15/palo_alto_networks_firewall_zeroday/">Mystery Palo Alto Networks hijack-my-firewall zero-day now officially under exploit</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/14/fortinet_vpn_authentication_bypass_bug/">Fortinet patches VPN app flaw that could give rogue users, malware a privilege boost</a></li> </ul> <p>CVE-2024-38812 is a critical heap-overflow vulnerability in the handling of the Distributed Computing Environment/Remote Procedure Calls (DCERPC) protocol that received a 9.8 out of 10 CVSS severity rating. An attacker with network access could exploit this flaw by sending a specially crafted packet, potentially allowing them to remotely execute malicious code on a vulnerable system.</p> <p>CVE-2024-38813 is a high-severity, 7.5-CVSS rated privilege escalation vulnerability. This one also requires network access to vCenter Server, and assuming an attacker has that, they can exploit the bug to escalate privileges to root.</p> <div aria-hidden="true" class="adun" data-pos="top" data-raptor="falcon" data-xsm=",fluid,mpu," data-sm=",fluid,mpu," data-md=",fluid,mpu,"> <noscript> <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/virtualization&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z0fXIop0bT2mC0zlRIewfAAAAFQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/virtualization&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z0fXIop0bT2mC0zlRIewfAAAAFQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D426raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> </noscript> </div> <p>Both CVEs put versions 7 and 8 of vCenter Server and versions 4 and 5 of VMware Cloud Foundation at risk of exploitation. ®</p> <div class="wptl btm"> <noscript><strong>Get our</strong> <a href="https://whitepapers.theregister.com/" style="text-transform:uppercase">Tech Resources</a></noscript> </div> </div> <div class="article_body_btm mobile_only"> <div class="sharing_widget_story_desktop uses_overlay"> <button class="top_blob" aria-label="Share this story" title="Share this story"> <img width="25" height="25" src="/design_picker/d2e337b97204af4aa34dda04c4e5d56d954b216f/graphics/icons/social_share_icon.svg" alt=""> <span>Share</span> </button> <div class="sharing_widget_overlay" id="sharing_widget_overlay_3"> <div class="sharing_box"> <a data-social="reddit" href="https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/18/vmware_vcenter_rce_exploited/%3futm_medium%3dshare%26utm_content%3darticle%26utm_source%3dreddit&title=Critical%209.8-rated%20VMware%20vCenter%20RCE%20bug%20exploited%20after%20patch%20fumble" target="_blank"> </a> <a data-social="twitter" 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