FusionApplication · VMware
CVE-2018-6973
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 Workstation (14.x before 14.1.3) and Fusion (10.x before 10.1.3) contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the e1000 device. This issue may allow a guest to execute code on the host.
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 confidenceOut-of-bounds write vulnerability in the e1000 virtual network adapter emulated by VMware Workstation (14.x before 14.1.3) and Fusion (10.x before 10.1.3). This memory corruption issue in the virtual hardware layer allows a malicious guest virtual machine to escape isolation and execute arbitrary code on the host 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
FusionApplication
> 10.0.0, < 10.1.3
WorkstationApplication
>= 14.0.0, < 14.1.3CVSS 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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed VMware productDetermine whether VMware Workstation or Fusion is installed on the host systemAffected if The system has either VMware Workstation or Fusion installed
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Check VMware versionRetrieve the exact version number of the installed VMware product and compare it to the affected ranges: Fusion < 10.1.3, Workstation < 14.1.3Affected if Version is 10.0.x through 10.1.2 for Fusion, or 14.0.x through 14.1.2 for Workstation
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Locate virtual machine configuration filesFind .vmx files for all guest virtual machines on the host systemAffected if One or more virtual machines exist on the affected VMware installation
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Check for e1000 adapter usageInspect each VM configuration file for the presence of the e1000 network adapter (look for 'ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000"' or similar e1000 references)Affected if Any guest VM is configured to use the e1000 virtual network adapter
A system is affected if it runs VMware Workstation 14.0.0-14.1.2 or Fusion 10.0.0-10.1.2 with at least one guest virtual machine using the e1000 virtual network adapter.
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 data10.1.314.1.3
Apply vendor patches by upgrading VMware Workstation to 14.1.3 or later and Fusion to 10.1.3 or later. As a temporary workaround, consider replacing the e1000 virtual network adapter with VMXNET3 in guest VMs where possible.
Fix this in Fusion
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-6973 — 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-2018-6973 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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