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ESX Server 3.0.1, Patch ESX-1004823: VCB Command-Line Utilities Might Contain Passwords

Details

Release Date: 08/28/08
Document Last Updated: 08/28/08
 
5ff2e8ce50c18afca76fb16c28415a59
Product Versions
ESX Server 3.0.1
Patch Classification
Security
Supersedes
Virtual Machine Migration or Reboot Required
No
ESX Server Host Reboot Required
No
PRs Fixed
263567
Affected Hardware
N/A
Affected Software
VMware Consolidated Backup
RPMs Included
Vmware-esx-backuptools
Related CVE numbers
CVE-2008-2101

Summary

VMware Consolidated Backup command-line utilities accept the user password through the -p command-line option. Users logged into the service console can gain access to the username and password used by VCB  command-line utilities when such commands are running.

This patch resolves this issue by providing an alternative way of passing the password used by VCB command-line utilities.

The following options are recommended for passing the password:

a. The password is specified in /etc/backuptools.conf (PASSWORD=xxxxx), and -p is not used in the command line.

b. No password is specified in /etc/backuptools.conf and the -p option is not used in the command line. The user will be prompted for entering the password.
 
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2008-2101 to this issue.

Solution

Symptoms

N/A

Deployment Considerations

N/A

Download Instructions

Download and verify the patch bundle as follows:

  1. Download patch ESX-1004823 from http://www.vmware.com/download/vi/vi3_patches.html .

  2. Log in to the ESX Server service console as root.

  3. Create a local depot directory.

    # mkdir -p /var/updates

    Note: VMware recommends that you use the updates directory.
  4. Change your working directory to /var/updates.

    # cd /var/updates
  5. Download the tar file into the /var/updates directory.

  6. Verify the integrity of the downloaded tar file:

    # md5sum ESX-1004823.tgz

    The md5 checksum output should match the following:

    5ff2e8ce50c18afca76fb16c28415a59 ESX-1004823.tgz
  7. Extract the compressed tar archive:

    # tar -xvzf ESX-1004823.tgz
  8. Change to the newly created directory, /var/updates/ESX-1004823:

    # cd ESX-1004823

Installation Instructions

After you download and extract the archive, and if you are in the directory that you previously created, use the following command to install the update:

# esxupdate update

To run esxupdate from a different directory, you must specify the bundle path in the command:

# esxupdate -r file://<directory>/ESX-1004823 update

For example, if the host is called depot:

# esxupdate -r file:///depot/var/updates/ESX-1004823 update

During the update process, logs appear on the terminal. You can specify the verbosity of esxupdate logs by using the -v option as shown, below.

# esxupdate -v 10 file://<directory>/ESX-1004823 update

For more information on how to use esxupdate, see the Patch Management for ESX Server 3 tech note at http://www.vmware.com/pdf/esx3_esxupdate.pdf .

Keywords

esxpatch;esx301

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Actions
  • KB Article: 1004823
  • Updated: Aug 28, 2008
  • Products:
    VMware ESX
    VMware Consolidated Backup
  • Product Versions:
    VMware ESX 3.0.x