Ubuntu 25.04: USN-7508-1 critical: open vm tools file overwrite

ubuntu

May 13, 2025

Open VM Tools could be made to overwrite files as the administrator.

Summary

Open VM Tools could be made to overwrite files as the administrator.

Software Description:

- open-vm-tools: Open VMware Tools for virtual machines hosted on VMware

Details:

It was discovered that Open VM Tools incorrectly handled certain file

operations. An attacker in a guest could use this issue to perform insecure

file operations and possibly elevate privileges in the guest.

Topics Covered

security advisory privilege escalation file overwrite ubuntu file operations open vm tools

Update Instructions

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following
package versions:

Ubuntu 25.04
   open-vm-tools                   2:12.5.0-1ubuntu0.1

Ubuntu 24.10
   open-vm-tools                   2:12.4.5-1ubuntu0.1

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
   open-vm-tools                   2:12.4.5-1~ubuntu0.24.04.2

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
   open-vm-tools                   2:12.3.5-3~ubuntu0.22.04.2

Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
   open-vm-tools                   2:11.3.0-2ubuntu0~ubuntu20.04.8

In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.