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EsxOperating system · VMware

CVE-2013-3657

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-09-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Buffer overflow in VMware ESXi 4.0 through 5.0, and ESX 4.0 and 4.1, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors.

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 · moderate confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in VMware ESXi 4.0-5.0 and ESX 4.0-4.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via unspecified vectors. The vulnerability is network-exploitable and rated high severity due to the potential for complete system compromise.

MitigationApply VMware security patches for this vulnerability or upgrade to a supported ESXi/ESX version beyond 5.0, as versions 4.x are end-of-life. Prioritize patching given the remote exploitation vector and critical nature of hypervisor-level vulnerabilities.

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:= 4.0= 4.1
EsxiOperating system
Affected:= 4.0= 4.1= 5.0

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
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

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

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 VMware hypervisor type and version
    Run command: vmware -v (for ESX) or esxcli system version get (for ESXi)
    Affected if Version output matches 4.0, 4.1, or 5.0 for ESXi; or 4.0 or 4.1 for ESX
  2. Confirm hypervisor product name
    Check /etc/vmware/esx.conf or run esxcli system version get to verify product is VMware ESXi or ESX
    Affected if Product is ESXi 4.0-5.0 or ESX 4.0-4.1
  3. Check network management interface exposure
    Verify if host management interfaces (DCUI, vSphere Client, ESXi Shell) are accessible from untrusted networks
    Affected if Management interfaces are exposed to network without proper firewall or ACL restrictions
  4. Review patch level
    Run esxcli software vib list or check VMware KB articles for installed patch version
    Affected if Patches for this CVE (e.g., ESXi550-201307401, ESXi400-201307401) are NOT installed

System is affected if running ESXi 4.0-5.0 or ESX 4.0-4.1 with management interfaces network-accessible and without corresponding security patches installed.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply VMware security patches for this vulnerability or upgrade to a supported ESXi/ESX version beyond 5.0, as versions 4.x are end-of-life. Prioritize patching given the remote exploitation vector and critical nature of hypervisor-level vulnerabilities.

Fix this in Esx Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,600
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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-2013-3657 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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data