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EsxOperating system · VMware

CVE-2012-1517

HIGH · 9.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-05-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The VMX process in VMware ESXi 4.1 and ESX 4.1 does not properly handle RPC commands, which allows guest OS users to cause a denial of service (memory overwrite and process crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code on the host OS via vectors involving function pointers.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The VMX process in VMware ESXi 4.1 and ESX 4.1 does not properly handle RPC commands, allowing guest OS users to cause memory corruption (overwrite) and process crashes via vectors involving function pointers. This can potentially enable arbitrary code execution on the host OS, representing a virtual machine escape vulnerability.

MitigationApply VMware security patches for CVE-2012-1517 to ESXi 4.1 and ESX 4.1 hosts, or upgrade to a patched version. Given the high CVSS score and severity, prioritize remediation in production environments.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
EsxOperating system
Affected:= 4.1
EsxiOperating system
Affected:= 4.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
Single
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the ESX/ESXi version
    Run 'vmware -v' or 'esxcli system version get' from the host console or via remote management
    Affected if The version shown is ESX 4.1 or ESXi 4.1 (exact version match)
  2. Retrieve the build number
    Run 'esxcli system version get' or check the vSphere Client summary tab for the build number
    Affected if The build number corresponds to an unpatched ESX/ESXi 4.1 release (check against VMware's published patch build numbers for CVE-2012-1517)
  3. Confirm VMX processes are active
    Run 'esxcli vm process list' or 'ps | grep vmx' to verify virtual machines are running
    Affected if Any VM is powered on, as the VMX process handles RPC commands for all running virtual machines

You are affected if your ESX or ESXi host is version 4.1 and is running any powered-on virtual machines, unless a patched build has been applied.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply VMware security patches for CVE-2012-1517 to ESXi 4.1 and ESX 4.1 hosts, or upgrade to a patched version. Given the high CVSS score and severity, prioritize remediation in production environments.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

ESXi 5.0 or later (ESXi 5.1, 5.5, 6.x, 7.x, or 8.x depending on hardware compatibility)

  1. 1. Schedule a maintenance window for the ESXi 4.1 host(s).
  2. 2. Back up all critical VM data and VMX configuration files.
  3. 3. Determine the current ESXi 4.1 build number for reference.
  4. 4. If staying at ESXi 4.1, check VMware Patch Tracker or my.vmware.com for the specific patch bundle addressing VMSA-2012-0006 (CVE-2012-1517).
  5. 5. If using vCenter Server, enable maintenance mode on the ESXi host via the vSphere Client or PowerCLI.
  6. 6. Migrate or shut down all running VMs on the host.
  7. 7. Install the VMware patch or proceed with a fresh install of ESXi 5.x or later.
  8. 8. After patching/upgrading, verify the build number matches the expected patched version.
Caveat ESXi 4.1 is extremely old and out of general support; upgrading to ESXi 5.x+ may require VM hardware version upgrades and could expose compatibility issues with legacy guest operating systems

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Esx Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-1517 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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