Executive brief
A security vulnerability has been identified in the AMD ionic cloud driver used within VMware ESXi virtualization environments. This flaw could allow a user with low-level access to gain higher administrative privileges on the host system. If successfully exploited, an attacker could potentially take full control of the server, leading to unauthorized data access or disruption of virtualized services.
Technical details
A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-119) exists in the AMD ionic cloud driver for VMware ESXi. The flaw is triggered when the driver improperly restricts operations within the bounds of a memory buffer. An attacker with local access and low privileges could exploit this vulnerability to escalate their privileges to a higher level. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution within the context of the ESXi hypervisor. The attack complexity is rated as high, suggesting specific timing or environmental conditions may be required for a successful exploit.
Affected products
- AMD ionic cloud driver for VMware ESXi
Timeline
- 2026-05-13: disclosed: Initial disclosure by AMD and NVD publication.