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HorizonApplication · VMware

CVE-2019-5527

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-10-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.2.0 / 10.0.5 or later.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
ESXi, Workstation, Fusion, VMRC and Horizon Client contain a use-after-free vulnerability in the virtual sound device. VMware has evaluated the severity of this issue to be in the Important severity range with a maximum CVSSv3 base score of 8.5.

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 use-after-free vulnerability exists in the virtual sound device of VMware ESXi, Workstation, Fusion, VMRC, and Horizon Client. This memory corruption flaw can be exploited by a malicious actor with access to a virtual machine to potentially execute arbitrary code outside the guest VM or cause a denial-of-service condition on the host system.

MitigationApply the corresponding VMware security patches for CVE-2019-5527 to all affected products (ESXi, Workstation, Fusion, VMRC, Horizon Client). For ESXi environments, schedule maintenance windows to apply patches and verify virtual machine functionality post-update.

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
HorizonApplication
Affected:< 5.2.0
Remote ConsoleApplication
Affected:>= 10.0.0, < 10.0.5
WorkstationApplication
Affected:>= 15.0.0, < 15.5.0
FusionApplication
Affected:>= 11.0.0, < 11.5.0
EsxiOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 6.5= 6.7

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed VMware product
    Determine which VMware product is running on the system: ESXi (host), Workstation (Windows/Linux desktop), Fusion (macOS desktop), VMRC (remote console), or Horizon Client
    Affected if The product is one of: ESXi, Workstation, Fusion, VMRC, or Horizon Client and the version falls within the affected ranges
  2. Check VMware product version
    For ESXi: run 'vmware -v' or check via vSphere Client. For Workstation/Fusion: Help > About. For VMRC/Horizon: check application version in About dialog
    Affected if Version matches: Horizon < 5.2.0, VMRC 10.0.0-10.0.4, Workstation 15.0.0-15.4.x, Fusion 11.0.0-11.4.x, or ESXi exactly 6.0, 6.5, or 6.7
  3. Verify virtual sound device configuration
    For VMs: check VM settings to see if a virtual sound card (Sound Card) is added and enabled. In vSphere: VM Settings > Options > Sound Card. In Workstation/Fusion: VM Settings > Hardware > Sound Card
    Affected if A virtual sound device is present and enabled on the virtual machine
  4. Check for pending patches
    Run 'esxcli software vib list' on ESXi host to list installed patches. For Workstation/Fusion: check for updates via Help > Check for Updates
    Affected if The installed patches do not include the CVE-2019-5527 security update for the specific product version

You are affected if you run any of the listed products (ESXi 6.0/6.5/6.7, Workstation 15.0.0-15.4.x, Fusion 11.0.0-11.4.x, VMRC 10.0.0-10.0.4, Horizon Client < 5.2.0) AND have a virtual sound device configured on a 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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.2.0 / 10.0.5 / 11.5.0 or later
Fixed in 5.2.010.0.511.5.0
Interim mitigation

Apply the corresponding VMware security patches for CVE-2019-5527 to all affected products (ESXi, Workstation, Fusion, VMRC, Horizon Client). For ESXi environments, schedule maintenance windows to apply patches and verify virtual machine functionality post-update.

Fix this in Horizon Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

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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-2019-5527 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