Gsx ServerApplication · VMware
CVE-2003-0631
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedVMware GSX Server 2.5.1 build 4968 and earlier, and Workstation 4.0 and earlier, allows local users to gain root privileges via certain enivronment variables that are used when launching a virtual machine session.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceVMware GSX Server 2.5.1 and Workstation 4.0 and earlier contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability where untrusted local users can manipulate environment variables used during virtual machine session launch to gain root privileges.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Gsx ServerApplication
= 2.5.1
WorkstationApplication
= 4.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Verify VMware product is installedCheck for VMware installation directories (e.g., /usr/lib/vmware, /opt/vmware, or C:\Program Files\VMware) and running vmware-vmx processesAffected if VMware GSX Server or Workstation is installed on the system
-
Identify installed VMware product and versionRun 'vmware -v' or 'vmware-installer -l' if available, or check version strings in vmware-vmx binary with 'strings vmware-vmx | grep -i version'Affected if Version is VMware GSX Server 2.5.1 or VMware Workstation 4.0 or earlier
-
Check if vmware-vmx runs with elevated privilegesRun 'ps aux | grep vmware-vmx' to see the process owner; the vulnerability requires vmware-vmx to run as root for privilege escalationAffected if vmware-vmx process runs as root or elevated user while being accessible to untrusted local users
-
Verify untrusted users can access VMware directoriesCheck file permissions on VMware installation directories and socket files (e.g., ls -la /var/run/vmware, /tmp/vmware-\(user\))Affected if Untrusted local users have write access to VMware runtime directories or can influence environment variables used during VM session launch
-
Confirm vulnerable configuration is activeCheck for environment variable injection vectors: examine if LD_PRELOAD, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, or similar can be set by unprivileged users when launching virtual machinesAffected if Untrusted users can manipulate environment variables that affect vmware-vmx execution without restrictions
System is affected if VMware GSX Server 2.5.1 or Workstation 4.0 or earlier is installed AND the vmware-vmx process runs with elevated privileges while allowing untrusted local users to influence session launch environment variables.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade to a patched version of VMware GSX Server or Workstation that addresses this vulnerability; modern versions of VMware products no longer contain this flaw.
Fix this in Gsx Server
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2003-0631 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2003-0631 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data