WorkstationApplication · VMware
CVE-2005-2939
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 · uneditedUnquoted Windows search path vulnerability in VMWare Workstation 5.0.0 build-13124 might allow local users to gain privileges via a malicious "program.exe" file in the C: folder.
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 confidenceUnquoted Windows service path in VMWare Workstation 5.0.0 allows local privilege escalation by placing a malicious program.exe in C:\, exploiting Windows' path searching behavior for unquoted service executable paths.
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
WorkstationApplication
= 5.0.0_build_13124CVSS 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.
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Check installed VMware Workstation versionOpen VMware Workstation, go to Help > About VMware Workstation, or check registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.\VMware Workstation for the Version valueAffected if Version is exactly 5.0.0 and build number is 13124
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Enumerate VMware Windows servicesOpen Services console (services.msc) or run 'sc queryex type= service state= all' to list all services. Look for services with names starting with 'VMware'Affected if Any VMware-related services are installed on the system
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Inspect service executable paths for quotingFor each VMware service, run 'sc qc <service_name>' and examine the BINARY_PATH_NAME. Check if the path contains spaces and is not enclosed in quotesAffected if A VMware service has an unquoted path containing spaces in its BINARY_PATH_NAME
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Verify path location allows privilege escalationIf an unquoted path exists (e.g., C:\Program Files\VMware\...), check if a malicious executable could be placed in an intermediate directory (e.g., C:\program.exe)Affected if The unquoted path has an intermediate directory where an attacker could place a malicious executable
You are affected if VMware Workstation version is exactly 5.0.0 build 13124 AND any VMware service has an unquoted executable path with spaces.
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 supported version of VMware Workstation; the vulnerable 5.0.x version is obsolete and no longer maintained.
Fix this in Workstation
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-2939 — 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-2005-2939 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
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- 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
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