A security research firm has issued a warning for a vulnerability in multiple VMware products that can be exploited by malicious people to cause a denial-of-service condition.
The vulnerability is caused due to an error in the VMware Authorization Service when processing login requests.
This can be exploited to terminate the “vmware-authd” process via “USER” or “PASS” strings containing e.g. ‘xFF’ characters, sent to TCP port 912, according to a Secunia advisory.
The vulnerability is confirmed in vmware-authd.exe version 6.5.3.8888 included in VMware Workstation 6.5.3 build 185404, and reported in VMware Player 2.5.3 build 185404. Other products and versions may also be affected.
In the absence of a patch, VMWare users are urged to restrict access to TCP port 912 to trusted users only.
