USN-5578-1: Open VM Tools vulnerability

Publication date

24 August 2022

Overview

open-vm-tools could be made to run programs as an administrator.


Packages

  • open-vm-tools - Open VMware Tools for virtual machines hosted on VMware

Details

It was discovered that Open VM Tools incorrectly handled certain requests.
An attacker inside the guest could possibly use this issue to gain root
privileges inside the virtual machine.

It was discovered that Open VM Tools incorrectly handled certain requests.
An attacker inside the guest could possibly use this issue to gain root
privileges inside the virtual machine.

Update instructions

In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.

Learn more about how to get the fixes.

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:

Ubuntu Release Package Version
22.04 jammy open-vm-tools –  2:11.3.5-1ubuntu4.1
20.04 focal open-vm-tools –  2:11.3.0-2ubuntu0~ubuntu20.04.3
18.04 bionic open-vm-tools –  2:11.0.5-4ubuntu0.18.04.2

Reduce your security exposure

Ubuntu Pro provides ten-year security coverage to 25,000+ packages in Main and Universe repositories, and it is free for up to five machines.


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