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Workstation PlayerApplication · VMware

CVE-2016-7081

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-12-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Multiple heap-based buffer overflows in VMware Workstation Pro 12.x before 12.5.0 and VMware Workstation Player 12.x before 12.5.0 on Windows, when Cortado ThinPrint virtual printing is enabled, allow guest OS users to execute arbitrary code on the host OS 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 · high confidence

Heap-based buffer overflow vulnerabilities in VMware Workstation Pro/Player 12.x on Windows when Cortado ThinPrint virtual printing is enabled allow guest OS users to escape guest/host isolation and execute arbitrary code on the host system via unspecified vectors in the ThinPrint component.

MitigationUpgrade VMware Workstation to version 12.5.0 or later; alternatively, disable the ThinPrint virtual printing feature if upgrading is not immediately feasible.

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
Workstation PlayerApplication
Affected:= 12.0.0= 12.0.1= 12.1.0= 12.1.1
Workstation ProApplication
Affected:= 12.0.0= 12.0.1= 12.1.0= 12.1.1

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/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. Confirm VMware Workstation is installed
    Open the VMware application (Workstation Pro or Player) and go to Help > About VMware Workstation to view the installed version. Alternatively, check the executable properties of vmware.exe in the installation directory.
    Affected if The version displayed is 12.0.0, 12.0.1, 12.1.0, or 12.1.1 (either Pro or Player edition).
  2. Verify the host operating system
    Confirm the VMware Workstation is running on Windows. This vulnerability only affects Windows hosts. Check System Properties or run 'winver' on the host system.
    Affected if The host OS is Windows and the VMware version matches the affected versions from step 1.
  3. Check if ThinPrint virtual printing is enabled
    Open the VM settings for any guest virtual machine: select the VM > go to VM > Settings (or press Ctrl+D) > expand Hardware tab > look for 'Printers' or 'Parallel/Serial' entries related to ThinPrint. Alternatively, open the VMX configuration file with a text editor and search for terms like 'thinprint', 'tp.', or 'printer.autodetect'.
    Affected if A virtual printer (ThinPrint) is listed in the VM hardware or the VMX file contains ThinPrint-related configuration entries set to TRUE.
  4. Identify affected VMs
    Review all configured virtual machines in the VMware inventory. For each VM, open Settings and check the Printer hardware section as described in step 3. Document which VMs have the virtual printer enabled.
    Affected if Any virtual machine has ThinPrint virtual printing enabled while the host runs affected VMware Workstation versions on Windows.

A system is affected if VMware Workstation Pro or Player version 12.0.0, 12.0.1, 12.1.0, or 12.1.1 is installed on Windows AND ThinPrint virtual printing is enabled for at least one guest virtual machine.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade VMware Workstation to version 12.5.0 or later; alternatively, disable the ThinPrint virtual printing feature if upgrading is not immediately feasible.

Fix this in Workstation Player Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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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-2016-7081 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
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