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EsxiOperating system · VMware

CVE-2017-4925

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2017-09-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.5.4 / 12.5.3 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
VMware ESXi 6.5 without patch ESXi650-201707101-SG, ESXi 6.0 without patch ESXi600-201706101-SG, ESXi 5.5 without patch ESXi550-201709101-SG, Workstation (12.x before 12.5.3), Fusion (8.x before 8.5.4) contain a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability. This issue occurs when handling guest RPC requests. Successful exploitation of this issue may allow attackers with normal user privileges to crash their VMs.

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

A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in VMware ESXi 6.5/6.0/5.5, Workstation 12.x before 12.5.3, and Fusion 8.x before 8.5.4 when handling guest RPC requests. An attacker with normal user privileges in a guest VM can exploit this to crash their VM, causing a denial of service.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches: ESXi650-201707101-SG, ESXi600-201706101-SG, ESXi550-201709101-SG for ESXi; Workstation 12.5.3 or later; Fusion 8.5.4 or later.

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
EsxiOperating system
Affected:= 5.5= 6.0= 6.5
WorkstationApplication
Affected:>= 12.0.0, < 12.5.3
Workstation ProApplication
Affected:>= 12.0.0, < 12.5.3
FusionApplication
Affected:>= 8.0.0, < 8.5.4

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 VMware product type
    Determine if the host runs ESXi, Workstation, or Fusion. On ESXi, run 'vmware -v' or check the vSphere Client. On Workstation/Fusion, check Help > About VMware.
    Affected if The host runs ESXi 5.5, 6.0, or 6.5; Workstation 12.x before 12.5.3; or Fusion 8.x before 8.5.4.
  2. Check ESXi version (if applicable)
    Run 'vmware -v' on the ESXi host console or query via esxcli: 'esxcli system version get'.
    Affected if Version is exactly 5.5, 6.0, or 6.5.
  3. Check Workstation version (if applicable)
    Open Workstation, go to Help > About VMware Workstation, or run 'vmware -v' from command line.
    Affected if Version starts with 12.0.0 through 12.5.2.
  4. Check Fusion version (if applicable)
    Open Fusion, go to VMware Fusion menu > About VMware Fusion, or run 'vmware -v' from terminal.
    Affected if Version starts with 8.0.0 through 8.5.3.
  5. Verify guest VM RPC functionality is in use
    The vulnerability triggers when guest VMs send RPC requests to the host. This feature is active when VMware Tools are installed and the guest has normal user privileges.
    Affected if Guest VMs with VMware Tools are running on the affected host version.

You are affected if your VMware product matches one of the listed version ranges and guest VMs with VMware Tools are running on the host.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.5.4 / 12.5.3 or later
Fixed in 8.5.412.5.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches: ESXi650-201707101-SG, ESXi600-201706101-SG, ESXi550-201709101-SG for ESXi; Workstation 12.5.3 or later; Fusion 8.5.4 or later.

Fix this in Esxi Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2017-4925 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