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Isolation SegmentApplication · VMware

CVE-2023-20891

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.11.35 / 2.11.42 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click Patch available

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 VMware Tanzu Application Service for VMs and Isolation Segment contain an information disclosure vulnerability due to the logging of credentials in hex encoding in platform system audit logs. A malicious non-admin user who has access to the platform system audit logs can access hex encoded CF API admin credentials and can push new malicious versions of an application. In a default deployment non-admin users do not have access to the platform system audit logs.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-532

Sensitive values — secrets, tokens, session identifiers, personal data — are written into log files, so anyone with access to the logs, which is often a broad group, obtains them. It turns a routine diagnostic into a credential leak. The fix is redacting sensitive data before it is logged and tightly restricting who can read the logs.

General guidance for the sensitive information in logs class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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
Isolation SegmentApplication
Affected:>= 2.11.0, < 2.11.35>= 2.13.0, < 2.13.20>= 3.0.0, < 3.0.13>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.4
Tanzu Application Service For Virtual MachinesApplication
Affected:>= 2.11.0, < 2.11.42>= 2.13.0, < 2.13.24>= 3.0.0, < 3.0.14>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.5

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.11.35 / 2.11.42 / 2.13.20 or later
Fixed in 2.11.352.11.422.13.20
Vendor patch www.vmware.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to: Isolation Segment 2.11.35, 2.13.20, 3.0.13, or 4.0.4; Tanzu Application Service for VMs 2.11.42, 2.13.24, 3.0.14, or 4.0.5 (or latest later stable release in your major version line)

  1. 1. Identify the currently deployed Tanzu Application Service for VMs or Isolation Segment version using 'cf api' or the Ops Manager UI.
  2. 2. Determine the upgrade path based on your current major.minor version line: For 2.x versions, upgrade to the latest 2.11.x (>=2.11.42), 2.13.x (>=2.13.24), or latest 2.x; For 3.x versions, upgrade to >=3.0.14; For 4.x versions, upgrade to >=4.0.5.
  3. 3. Review VMware Tanzu Application Service release notes and upgrade documentation for your specific version line at docs.vmware.com.
  4. 4. Back up all critical platform data, configuration, and BOSH state before initiating the upgrade.
  5. 5. Use Ops Manager to perform the upgrade by importing the new stemcell and tile versions, then clicking 'Apply Changes'.
  6. 6. After upgrade completes, verify the system audit logs no longer contain hex-encoded credentials.
  7. 7. Rotate all CF API admin credentials as a precautionary measure since they may have been exposed in logs.
Caveat Standard Tanzu upgrade risks apply - review compatibility matrices, test in staging environment first, and plan for downtime window

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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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-2023-20891 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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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