Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2005-4459

Heap-based buffer overflow in the NAT networking components vmnat.exe and vmnet-natd in VMWare Workstation 5.5, GSX Server 3.2, ACE 1.0.1, and Player 1.0 allows remote authenticated attackers, including guests, to execute arbitrary code via crafted (1) EPRT and (2) PORT FTP commands.

Security Impact Summary

CVE-2005-4459 is a security vulnerability that . Impacting 4 products from vmware, from vmware, from vmware and 1 other, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Originally identified in 2005, this vulnerability predates many modern security frameworks and practices. The vulnerability landscape of that era was characterized by different threat models and less mature defense mechanisms compared to contemporary standards.

Published

2005-12-21T20:03:00.000

Last Modified

2025-04-03T01:03:51.193

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv2: 10.0 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
Availability Impact: COMPLETE

Exploitability Score

10.0

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-119

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	vmware	ace	1.0	Yes
Application	vmware	gsx_server	2.0	Yes
Application	vmware	gsx_server	2.0.1_build_2129	Yes
Application	vmware	gsx_server	2.5.1	Yes
Application	vmware	gsx_server	2.5.1_build_5336	Yes
Application	vmware	gsx_server	2.5.2	Yes
Application	vmware	gsx_server	3.0	Yes
Application	vmware	gsx_server	3.0_build_7592	Yes
Application	vmware	gsx_server	3.1	Yes
Application	vmware	gsx_server	3.2	Yes
Application	vmware	player	1.0.0	Yes
Application	vmware	workstation	3.2.1	Yes
Application	vmware	workstation	3.4	Yes
Application	vmware	workstation	4.0	Yes
Application	vmware	workstation	4.0.1	Yes
Application	vmware	workstation	4.0.2	Yes
Application	vmware	workstation	4.5.2	Yes
Application	vmware	workstation	4.5.2_build_8848	Yes
Application	vmware	workstation	5.0.0_build_13124	Yes
Application	vmware	workstation	5.5	Yes

References

http://lists.grok.org.uk/pipermail/full-disclosure/2005-December/040442.html Exploit ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/18162 Patch, Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/18344 Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/282 ([email protected])
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/289 ([email protected])
http://securitytracker.com/id?1015401 ([email protected])
http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200601-04.xml ([email protected])
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/856689 US Government Resource ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/419997/100/0/threaded ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/420017/100/0/threaded ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/15998 Patch ([email protected])
http://www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2000 Patch ([email protected])
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2005/3013 Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://lists.grok.org.uk/pipermail/full-disclosure/2005-December/040442.html Exploit (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/18162 Patch, Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/18344 Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/282 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/289 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://securitytracker.com/id?1015401 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200601-04.xml (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/856689 US Government Resource (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/419997/100/0/threaded (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/420017/100/0/threaded (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/15998 Patch (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2000 Patch (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2005/3013 Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For vmware's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.