ToolsApplication · VMware
CVE-2016-7079
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 · uneditedThe graphic acceleration functions in VMware Tools 9.x and 10.x before 10.0.9 on OS X allow local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-7080.
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 Tools versions 9.x and 10.x before 10.0.9 on macOS contain a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in graphic acceleration functions. A local unprivileged user can exploit this to escalate to root privileges or cause a denial of service by crashing the affected system.
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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm VMware Tools is installed on macOSCheck if VMware Tools package or daemon exists on the system. On macOS guests, look for VMware Tools-related processes or check the installation directory.Affected if VMware Tools is not installed, the system is not vulnerable to this specific flaw.
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Identify the installed VMware Tools versionRun 'vmware-toolbox-cmd -v' or check the VMware Tools version through the VMware Fusion UI (VMware Tools details in the virtual machine settings). On macOS, you can also check installed packages via system information.Affected if The detected version matches one of the affected versions: any 9.x version (9.0.0, 9.0.1, 9.0.5, 9.0.10, 9.0.11, 9.0.12, 9.0.13, 9.0.15) or any 10.x version <= 10.0.8 (including 10.0.0, 10.0.5, 10.0.6).
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Verify the guest operating system is macOSCheck the operating system of the virtual machine running on VMware. This vulnerability only affects macOS guests, not Windows or Linux.Affected if The guest OS is not macOS, this specific CVE does not apply.
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Determine if graphic acceleration is enabledIn VMware Fusion, check the virtual machine settings under Display or Graphics to see if hardware graphics acceleration is enabled. The vulnerability exists in graphic acceleration functions.Affected if Graphic acceleration is enabled on a macOS VM with an affected VMware Tools version, the system is vulnerable to exploitation.
A macOS virtual machine with VMware Tools version 9.x or 10.x (any version <= 10.0.8) that has graphic acceleration enabled is affected by this vulnerability.
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 10.0.9 or later on all affected macOS virtual machines. Prioritize systems where untrusted local users have access.
Fix this in Tools
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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 $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-7079 — 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-2016-7079 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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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
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