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Vcenter ServerApplication · VMware

CVE-2017-4919

CRITICAL · 9.0 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-07-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
99/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
VMware vCenter Server 5.5, 6.0, 6.5 allows vSphere users with certain, limited vSphere privileges to use the VIX API to access Guest Operating Systems without the need to authenticate.

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

VMware vCenter Server versions 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability in the VIX API that allows vSphere users with certain limited privileges to access Guest Operating Systems without authentication.

MitigationApply VMware security patches for CVE-2017-4919 to affected vCenter Server versions. If patching is not immediately feasible, restrict VIX API access through network controls and monitor for unauthorized guest OS access attempts.

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
Vcenter ServerApplication
Affected:= 5.5= 6.0= 6.5

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 vCenter Server installation and version
    Check the vCenter Server version by accessing the About page in the vSphere Web Client, or use the vpxd -v command on the vCenter Server appliance, or review the installed packages or VMware tools bundle version.
    Affected if The installed version is 5.5, 6.0, or 6.5 exactly.
  2. Confirm VIX API is enabled
    Review the vCenter Server configuration to determine if the VIX API functionality is enabled. This can typically be found in the vSphere Client under Host and Cluster settings, or by checking the vCenter Server service configuration for VIX-related settings.
    Affected if VIX API is enabled and accessible to vSphere users.
  3. Review user privileges for VIX API access
    Check the permission assignments in vCenter Server for users or groups that have been granted VIX-related privileges. Look for VirtualMachine.Interact.GuestOperation or similar VIX-associated privilege entries in the permissions inventory.
    Affected if Users with limited vSphere privileges (non-administrator) are assigned VIX-related guest operation privileges.
  4. Audit guest operation usage logs
    Review vCenter Server logs and the vSphere Client event logs for recent guest operation events. Look for guest operating system interactions that occurred without proper authentication or from users with restricted privilege sets.
    Affected if Guest operation events exist that were performed by users lacking full administrator credentials.

If vCenter Server version 5.5, 6.0, or 6.5 is running with VIX API enabled and users have VIX-related guest operation privileges assigned, the environment is potentially affected by this authentication bypass vulnerability.

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-2017-4919 to affected vCenter Server versions. If patching is not immediately feasible, restrict VIX API access through network controls and monitor for unauthorized guest OS access attempts.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

vCenter Server 8.0 (latest stable) - note that vCenter 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5 are end-of-life and no longer receive security patches

  1. Identify current vCenter Server version and build number in the vSphere Client or through the Summary tab
  2. Download and deploy the latest version of vCenter Server (currently version 8.0) from VMware Customer Connect
  3. Follow VMware's official migration/upgrade guide to upgrade the vCenter Server instance
  4. After upgrade, verify that the VIX API now requires proper authentication by testing with a limited-privilege user account
  5. Ensure all guest operations now require valid credentials
Caveat Upgrading across major versions (5.5->8.0, 6.0->8.0, 6.5->8.0) requires careful migration planning; review VMware's interoperability guides and ensure compatibility with ESXi hosts; backup vCenter Server data before upgrade

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

Fix this in Vcenter Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2017-4919 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