The vSphere API in VMware ESXi 4.1 and ESX 4.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (host daemon crash) via an invalid value in a (1) RetrieveProp or (2) RetrievePropEx SOAP request.

The remote VMware ESX / ESXi host is missing a security-related patch.
It is, therefore, affected by multiple vulnerabilities, including remote code execution vulnerabilities, in several components and third-party libraries :

  - bind
  - expat
  - nspr and nss
  - python
  - vSphere API

a. VMware vSphere API denial of service vulnerability

   The VMware vSphere API contains a denial of service    vulnerability.  This issue allows an unauthenticated user to    send a maliciously crafted API request and disable the host    daemon. Exploitation of the issue would prevent management    activities on the host but any virtual machines running on the    host would be unaffected.

   VMware would like to thank Sebastian Tello of Core Security    Technologies for reporting this issue to us.
    The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org)    has assigned the name CVE-2012-5703 to this issue.

b. Update to ESX service console bind packages

   The ESX service console bind packages are updated to the    following versions :

       bind-libs-9.3.6-20.P1.el5_8.2        bind-utils-9.3.6-20.P1.el5_8.2

   These updates fix multiple security issues. The Common    Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has    assigned the names CVE-2012-1033, CVE-2012-1667, and    CVE-2012-3817 to these issues.

c. Update to ESX service console python packages

   The ESX service console Python packages are updated to the    following versions :

       python-2.4.3-46.el5_8.2.x86_64        python-libs-2.4.3-46.el5_8.2.x86_64      These updates fix multiple security issues. The Common    Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has    assigned the names CVE-2011-4940, CVE-2011-4944, and    CVE-2012-1150 to these issues.

d. Update to ESX service console expat package

   The ESX service console expat package is updated to    expat-1.95.8-11.el5_8.

   This update fixes multiple security issues. The Common    Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has    assigned the names CVE-2012-0876 and CVE-2012-1148 to these    issues.

e. Update to ESX service console nspr and nss packages

   This patch updates the ESX service console Netscape Portable    Runtime and Network Security Services RPMs to versions    nspr-4.9.1.4.el5_8 and nss-3.13.5.4.9834, respectively, to    resolve multiple security issues.

   The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org)    has assigned the name CVE-2012-0441 to this issue. This patch    also resolves a certificate trust issue caused by a fraudulent    DigiNotar root certificate.

ID	Name	Product	Family	Severity
89039	VMware ESX / ESXi Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2012-0016) (remote check)	Nessus	Misc.	high
62944	VMSA-2012-0016 : VMware security updates for vSphere API and ESX Service Console	Nessus	VMware ESX Local Security Checks	high

Detections

Analytics

CVE-2012-5703

high

Tenable Plugins

high

high