dbcve.org
FusionApplication · VMware

CVE-2019-5536

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-10-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.5.0 / 15.5.0 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 (6.7 before ESXi670-201908101-SG and 6.5 before ESXi650-201910401-SG), Workstation (15.x before 15.5.0) and Fusion (11.x before 11.5.0) contain a denial-of-service vulnerability in the shader functionality. Successful exploitation of this issue may allow attackers with normal user privileges to create a denial-of-service condition on their own VM. Exploitation of this issue require an attacker to have access to a virtual machine with 3D graphics enabled. It is not enabled by default on ESXi and is enabled by default on Workstation and Fusion.

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

VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion contain a denial-of-service vulnerability in the shader functionality. Attackers with normal user privileges on a virtual machine with 3D graphics enabled can crash the VM, causing a denial-of-service condition on their own VM.

MitigationUpdate to the patched versions (ESXi670-201908101-SG or later, ESXi650-201910401-SG or later, Workstation 15.5.0 or later, Fusion 11.5.0 or later). If patching is not immediately feasible, disable 3D graphics on affected VMs where not required.

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
Affected:>= 11.0.0, < 11.5.0
WorkstationApplication
Affected:>= 15.0.0, < 15.5.0
EsxiOperating system
Affected:= 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 the installed VMware product
    Determine whether you are running ESXi, Workstation, or Fusion. On ESXi, run 'vmware -v' or check the vSphere Client. On Workstation or Fusion, open the application and go to Help > About.
    Affected if The product is ESXi, Workstation, or Fusion but the specific product cannot be determined.
  2. Check the installed version against affected ranges
    For ESXi: run 'esxcli system version get' or check the vSphere Client host summary. For Workstation: go to Help > About VMware Workstation. For Fusion: go to VMware Fusion menu > About VMware Fusion. Compare the version to: Fusion >= 11.0.0 and < 11.5.0; Workstation >= 15.0.0 and < 15.5.0; ESXi = 6.5 or 6.7.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of the affected ranges.
  3. Determine if 3D graphics is enabled on any VMs
    For ESXi: check the VM's .vmx file for 'svga.vgaMode = "3d"' or 'mks.enable3d = "TRUE"', or view the VM settings in the vSphere Client under VM Options > Graphics. For Workstation: open VM Settings > Hardware > Display and check 'Enable 3D graphics'. For Fusion: open VM Settings > Display and check 'Enable 3D Graphics'.
    Affected if 3D graphics is enabled on any virtual machine.
  4. Identify VMs with user-access where the vulnerability applies
    Review VMs that have normal user accounts with login access. These are the VMs where a user could trigger the shader denial-of-service condition.
    Affected if Any VM with 3D graphics enabled also has non-admin user accounts present.

A user is affected if they run an affected VMware product version (ESXi 6.5/6.7, Workstation 15.0.x, or Fusion 11.0-11.4.x) AND have virtual machines with 3D graphics enabled that are accessible to normal users.

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 11.5.0 / 15.5.0 or later
Fixed in 11.5.015.5.0
Interim mitigation

Update to the patched versions (ESXi670-201908101-SG or later, ESXi650-201910401-SG or later, Workstation 15.5.0 or later, Fusion 11.5.0 or later). If patching is not immediately feasible, disable 3D graphics on affected VMs where not required.

Fix this in Fusion Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-5536 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2019-5536 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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