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EsxOperating system · VMware

CVE-2012-1516

CRITICAL · 9.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2012-05-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 · unedited
The VMX process in VMware ESXi 3.5 through 4.1 and ESX 3.5 through 4.1 does not properly handle RPC commands, which allows guest OS users to cause a denial of service (memory overwrite and process crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code on the host OS via vectors involving data pointers.

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 confidence

The VMX (virtual machine monitor) process in VMware ESXi 3.5 through 4.1 and ESX 3.5 through 4.1 fails to properly validate RPC command handling, allowing a malicious user within a guest virtual machine to corrupt memory, crash the VMX process, or potentially achieve arbitrary code execution on the host operating system via crafted data pointers.

MitigationApply VMware security patches for CVE-2012-1516 to all affected ESXi/ESX hosts; until patched, avoid running untrusted or potentially compromised virtual machines on affected hosts.

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
EsxOperating system
Affected:= 3.5= 4.0= 4.1
EsxiOperating system
Affected:= 3.5= 4.0= 4.1

CVSS 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the ESXi/ESX version
    Run `vmware -v` on the host console, or check the version in vSphere Client under Configuration > Security Profile, or view /proc/vmware/version in the service console
    Affected if The version is 3.5, 4.0, or 4.1 (any build)
  2. Confirm VMX process is running
    Run `ps | grep vmx` or check via esxcli vm process list to see active virtual machines
    Affected if Any VMX processes are active on an affected ESXi/ESX host
  3. Check if VM communication channel is enabled
    Examine the .vmx configuration file for each VM and look for the setting `vmx.buildType = "release"` or check if the VM has VMware Tools installed, which enables the guest-to-host communication channel
    Affected if VMs with VMware Tools installed are running on an affected version (this enables the RPC pathway)
  4. Identify VMs with potentially untrusted owners
    Review VM inventory in vSphere Client to identify any VMs from untrusted sources, tenants, or that run unpatched/untrusted guest operating systems
    Affected if Untrusted or potentially compromised VMs are running on an affected ESXi/ESX host

If the host runs ESXi/ESX version 3.5, 4.0, or 4.1 and has active VMs with VMware Tools, the environment is potentially affected by this vulnerability.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply VMware security patches for CVE-2012-1516 to all affected ESXi/ESX hosts; until patched, avoid running untrusted or potentially compromised virtual machines on affected hosts.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to ESXi 5.5 or later (preferably 7.x/8.x for active support); or apply VMware security patches ESXi350-201206001 / ESXi400-201206001 / ESXi410-201206001 or later for older versions

  1. 1. Identify current VMware ESX/ESXi version using 'vmware -v' or 'esxupdate -r query' command
  2. 2. Download the appropriate VMware security patch from vmware.com/support/patches/ or the specific patch for this CVE
  3. 3. For ESXi 4.1: Apply Patch ESXi410-201206001 or later via 'esxcli software vib update -d /path/to/patch.zip'
  4. 4. For ESXi 4.0: Apply Patch ESXi400-201206001 or later via 'esxcli software vib update -d /path/to/patch.zip'
  5. 5. For ESXi 3.5: Apply Patch ESXi350-201206001 or later via 'esxupdate' command
  6. 6. Alternatively, migrate to a supported vSphere version (5.5, 6.x, 7.x, or 8.x) for long-term security support
  7. 7. After patching, verify the version contains the fix and restart the host
Caveat ESX/ESXi 3.5/4.0/4.1 are end-of-life; patching older versions may not receive future security updates; upgrading to vSphere 7.x/8.x may require VM hardware version upgrades

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Esx Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-1516 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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