Workstation PlayerApplication · VMware
CVE-2016-7085
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 · uneditedUntrusted search path vulnerability in the installer in VMware Workstation Pro 12.x before 12.5.0 and VMware Workstation Player 12.x before 12.5.0 on Windows allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in an unspecified directory.
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 confidenceUntrusted search path (DLL hijacking) vulnerability in VMware Workstation Pro and Player 12.x installers for Windows. The installer loads DLLs from directories that local attackers can control, allowing execution of malicious code with elevated privileges during the installation process.
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
= 12.0.0= 12.0.1= 12.1.0= 12.1.1
Workstation ProApplication
= 12.0.0= 12.0.1= 12.1.0= 12.1.1CVSS 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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Verify if VMware Workstation is installedCheck the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for entries with 'VMware' in the DisplayName, or inspect Program Files for VMware installation foldersAffected if No VMware Workstation installation is found in the registry or file system
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Identify the exact VMware Workstation productExamine the registry DisplayName or installation folder name to determine if the product is VMware Workstation Pro or VMware Workstation PlayerAffected if The product is neither VMware Workstation Pro nor VMware Workstation Player
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Determine the installed version numberRead the DisplayVersion value from the registry key under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{VMware Product GUID}, or right-click the installer executable and view Properties > Details for the File VersionAffected if The version is 12.0.0, 12.0.1, 12.1.0, or 12.1.1
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Check for the original installer fileLocate any VMware Workstation installer executable (e.g., VMware-workstation-full-12.x.x-xxxx.exe) stored on the systemAffected if The stored installer matches version 12.0.0, 12.0.1, 12.1.0, or 12.1.1
You are affected if VMware Workstation Pro or Player version 12.0.0, 12.0.1, 12.1.0, or 12.1.1 is currently installed on the system, or if you possess an installer of these versions that could be run again.
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 VMware Workstation 12.5.0 or later which contains the fix for this vulnerability.
Fix this in Workstation Player
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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-2016-7085 — 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-2016-7085 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data