ToolsApplication · VMware
CVE-2016-5328
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 Tools 9.x and 10.x before 10.1.0 on OS X, when System Integrity Protection (SIP) is enabled, allows local users to determine kernel memory addresses and bypass the kASLR protection mechanism via unspecified vectors.
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 · moderate confidenceVMware Tools 9.x and 10.x before 10.1.0 on macOS contains an information disclosure vulnerability when System Integrity Protection is enabled. Local users can determine kernel memory addresses, effectively bypassing the kASLR (kernel Address Space Layout Randomization) protection mechanism via unspecified vectors.
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
ToolsApplication
<= 10.0.8= 10.0.0= 10.0.5= 10.0.6= 9.0.0= 9.0.1= 9.0.5= 9.0.10= 9.0.11= 9.0.12= 9.0.13= 9.0.15CVSS 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
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Identify installed VMware Tools version on macOSOpen a terminal on the macOS virtual machine and run: vmware-toolbox-cmd -vAffected if The version returned is 10.0.0, 10.0.5, 10.0.6, 10.0.8, 9.0.0, 9.0.1, 9.0.5, 9.0.10, 9.0.11, 9.0.12, 9.0.13, or 9.0.15 (any version <= 10.0.8 from the affected list)
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Confirm System Integrity Protection statusRestart the macOS VM, hold Cmd+R to enter Recovery Mode, then open Terminal and run: csrutil statusAffected if System Integrity Protection is reported as enabled (the vulnerability only applies when SIP is enabled)
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Verify the operating system is macOSCheck the guest operating system: uname -a or System Preferences > About This MacAffected if The guest OS is macOS (this vulnerability only affects macOS virtual machines, not Windows or Linux)
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Confirm VMware Tools is runningCheck if the VMware Tools service is active: ps aux | grep -i vmware or ls /Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Tools/Affected if VMware Tools daemon is running on the macOS guest
The environment is affected if VMware Tools on a macOS virtual machine with System Integrity Protection enabled is version 9.x or 10.x <= 10.0.8 from the listed affected versions.
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 VMware Tools to version 10.1.0 or later on affected macOS virtual machines. This is a local vulnerability requiring authenticated local access, but it can facilitate privilege escalation attacks.
Fix this in Tools
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 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 $2,272.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-5328 — 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-2016-5328 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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