Critical

Privilege Escalation via libasound in VMware Workstation/Fusion DnD

IdentifiersCVE-2017-4901CWE-427

CVE-2017-4901 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in VMware Workstation 12.x before 12.5.4 and Fusion 8.x before 8.5.5, specifically affecting the drag-and-drop (DnD) function. The vulnerability arises when the privileged VM host process loads the libasound library for audio-enabled virtual machines. Because libasound parses user-controllable ALSA configuration files (such as ~/.asoundrc) and can load arbitrary shared libraries via dlopen(), an unprivileged local attacker can place a malicious shared library and reference it in their ~/.asoundrc. When a VM with a virtual sound card is started, the attacker's code is executed with root privileges, allowing full compromise of the host system.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows an unprivileged local user to execute arbitrary code as root on the host operating system running VMware Workstation or Fusion. This results in full privilege escalation and potential complete system compromise.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

As an interim mitigation, disable or restrict the use of virtual sound cards in VMs, or ensure that audio output handling is performed in an unprivileged process. Avoid running privileged processes that parse user-controlled configuration files. Regularly audit and restrict permissions on configuration files such as ~/.asoundrc.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade VMware Workstation to version 12.5.4 or later, and VMware Fusion to version 8.5.5 or later, where the vulnerability is addressed. Ensure that privileged processes do not load user-controllable configuration files or libraries, especially in setuid contexts.

PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No valid public exploits. Mallory filtered out 1 candidate as fakes, detection scripts, or README-only repos.

VALID 0 / 1 TOTALView more in app

All candidate exploits were filtered out by Mallory's validation.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType

BroadcomFusionapplication

BroadcomWorkstationapplication

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

No public activity tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

0 SOURCESView more in app

No public activity observed for this vulnerability.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.

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Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity