Vulnerabilities > CVE-2019-5534 - Insufficiently Protected Credentials vulnerability in VMWare Vcenter Server 6.0/6.5/6.7

047910
CVSS 4.0 - MEDIUM
Attack vector
NETWORK
Attack complexity
LOW
Privileges required
SINGLE
Confidentiality impact
PARTIAL
Integrity impact
NONE
Availability impact
NONE
network
low complexity
vmware
CWE-522
nessus

Summary

VMware vCenter Server (6.7.x prior to 6.7 U3, 6.5 prior to 6.5 U3 and 6.0 prior to 6.0 U3j) contains an information disclosure vulnerability where Virtual Machines deployed from an OVF could expose login information via the virtual machine's vAppConfig properties. A malicious actor with access to query the vAppConfig properties of a virtual machine deployed from an OVF may be able to view the credentials used to deploy the OVF (typically the root account of the virtual machine).

Vulnerable Configurations

Part Description Count
Application
Vmware
44

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

  • Session Sidejacking
    Session sidejacking takes advantage of an unencrypted communication channel between a victim and target system. The attacker sniffs traffic on a network looking for session tokens in unencrypted traffic. Once a session token is captured, the attacker performs malicious actions by using the stolen token with the targeted application to impersonate the victim. This attack is a specific method of session hijacking, which is exploiting a valid session token to gain unauthorized access to a target system or information. Other methods to perform a session hijacking are session fixation, cross-site scripting, or compromising a user or server machine and stealing the session token.
  • Lifting credential(s)/key material embedded in client distributions (thick or thin)
    An attacker examines a target application's code or configuration files to find credential or key material that has been embedded within the application or its files. Many services require authentication with their users for the various purposes including billing, access control or attribution. Some client applications store the user's authentication credentials or keys to accelerate the login process. Some clients may have built-in keys or credentials (in which case the server is authenticating with the client, rather than the user). If the attacker is able to locate where this information is stored, they may be able to retrieve these credentials. The attacker could then use these stolen credentials to impersonate the user or client, respectively, in interactions with the service or use stolen keys to eavesdrop on nominally secure communications between the client and server.
  • Password Recovery Exploitation
    An attacker may take advantage of the application feature to help users recover their forgotten passwords in order to gain access into the system with the same privileges as the original user. Generally password recovery schemes tend to be weak and insecure. Most of them use only one security question . For instance, mother's maiden name tends to be a fairly popular one. Unfortunately in many cases this information is not very hard to find, especially if the attacker knows the legitimate user. These generic security questions are also re-used across many applications, thus making them even more insecure. An attacker could for instance overhear a coworker talking to a bank representative at the work place and supplying their mother's maiden name for verification purposes. An attacker can then try to log in into one of the victim's accounts, click on "forgot password" and there is a good chance that the security question there will be to provide mother's maiden name. A weak password recovery scheme totally undermines the effectiveness of a strong password scheme.

Nessus

NASL familyMisc.
NASL idVMWARE_VCENTER_VMSA-2019-0013.NASL
descriptionThe version of VMware vCenter Server installed on the remote host is 6.0 prior to U3j, 6.5 prior to U3, or 6.7 prior to U3, and is, therefore, affected by the following vulnerabilities: - An information disclosure vulnerability caused by insufficient session expiration. This allows an attacker with physical access or the ability to mimic a websocket connection to a user
last seen2020-06-01
modified2020-06-02
plugin id129503
published2019-10-02
reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2019 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.
sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/129503
titleVMware vCenter Server 6.0 / 6.5 / 6.7 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2019-0013)
code
#
# (C) Tenable Network Security, Inc.
#

include('compat.inc');

if (description)
{
  script_id(129503);
  script_version("1.4");
  script_cvs_date("Date: 2019/10/31 15:18:51");

  script_cve_id("CVE-2019-5531", "CVE-2019-5532", "CVE-2019-5534");
  script_xref(name:"VMSA", value:"2019-0013");
  script_xref(name:"IAVA", value:"2019-A-0344");

  script_name(english:"VMware vCenter Server 6.0 / 6.5 / 6.7 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2019-0013)");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"synopsis", value:
"A virtualization management application installed on the remote host is affected by multiple vulnerabilities.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"description", value:
"The version of VMware vCenter Server installed on the remote host is 6.0 prior to U3j, 6.5 prior to U3, or 6.7 prior
to U3, and is, therefore, affected by the following vulnerabilities:

  - An information disclosure vulnerability caused by
    insufficient session expiration. This allows an
    attacker with physical access or the ability to mimic
    a websocket connection to a user's browser to control a
    VM console after the user's session has expired or they
    have logged out. (CVE-2019-5531)

  - An information disclosure vulnerability caused by
    plain-text logging of virtual machine credentials
    through OVF. This allows an attacker with access to the
    log files which contain the vCenter OVF-properties of a
    virtual machine deployed from an OVF to view the
    credentials used to deploy the OVF, which typically
    belong to the root account of the virtual machine.
    (CVE-2019-5532)

  - An information disclosure vulnerability in virtual
    machines deployed from an OVF which could expose login
    information via the virtual machine's vAppConfig
    properties. An attacker with access to query the
    vAppConfig properties of a virtual machine deployed
    from an OVF can view the credentials used to deploy the
    OVC, which typically belong to the root account of the
    virtual machine. (CVE-2019-5534)
    
Note that Nessus has not tested for these issues but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version
number.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"see_also", value:"https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2019-0013.html");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"solution", value:
"Upgrade to VMware vCenter Server 6.0 U3j, 6.5 U3, or 6.7 U3 or later.");
  script_set_cvss_base_vector("CVSS2#AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N");
  script_set_cvss_temporal_vector("CVSS2#E:U/RL:OF/RC:C");
  script_set_cvss3_base_vector("CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N");
  script_set_cvss3_temporal_vector("CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:O/RC:C");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cvss_score_source", value:"CVE-2019-5531");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploitability_ease", value:"No known exploits are available");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"vuln_publication_date", value:"2019/09/18");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"patch_publication_date", value:"2019/09/16");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_publication_date", value:"2019/10/02");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_type", value:"remote");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/a:vmware:vcenter_server");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"stig_severity", value:"I");
  script_end_attributes();

  script_category(ACT_GATHER_INFO);
  script_family(english:"Misc.");

  script_copyright(english:"This script is Copyright (C) 2019 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.");

  script_dependencies("vmware_vcenter_detect.nbin");
  script_require_keys("Host/VMware/vCenter", "Host/VMware/version", "Host/VMware/release");
  script_require_ports("Services/www", 80, 443);

  exit(0);
}

include('audit.inc');
include('global_settings.inc');
include('misc_func.inc');

port = get_kb_item_or_exit('Host/VMware/vCenter');
version = get_kb_item_or_exit('Host/VMware/version');
release = get_kb_item_or_exit('Host/VMware/release');

# Extract and verify the build number
build = ereg_replace(pattern:'^VMware vCenter Server [0-9\\.]+ build-([0-9]+)$', string:release, replace:"\1");
if (build !~ '^[0-9]+$') exit(1, 'Failed to extract the build number from the release string.');

release = release - 'VMware vCenter Server ';
fixversion = NULL;

# Check version and build numbers
# 6.0 U3j https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.0/rn/vsphere-vcenter-server-60u3j-release-notes.html
if(version =~ '^VMWare vCenter 6\\.0$' && int(build) < 14510545) fixversion = '6.0.0 build-14510545';
# 6.5 U3 https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/rn/vsphere-vcenter-server-65u3-release-notes.html
else if(version =~ '^VMWare vCenter 6\\.5$' && int(build) < 14020092) fixversion = '6.5.0 build-14020092';
# 6.7 U3 https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.7/rn/vsphere-vcenter-server-67u3-release-notes.html
else if(version =~ '^VMWare vCenter 6\\.7$' && int(build) < 14367737) fixversion = '6.7.0 build-14367737';
else audit(AUDIT_LISTEN_NOT_VULN, 'VMware vCenter', port, release);

report = report_items_str(
  report_items:make_array(
    'Installed version', release,
    'Fixed version', fixversion
  ),
  ordered_fields:make_list('Installed version', 'Fixed version')
);
security_report_v4(port:port, severity:SECURITY_WARNING, extra:report);