ToolsApplication · VMware
CVE-2020-3941
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 · uneditedThe repair operation of VMware Tools for Windows 10.x.y has a race condition which may allow for privilege escalation in the Virtual Machine where Tools is installed. This vulnerability is not present in VMware Tools 11.x.y since the affected functionality is not present in VMware Tools 11.
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 confidenceVMware Tools for Windows 10.x.y contains a race condition in its repair operation that can be exploited to achieve privilege escalation within the guest virtual machine. The vulnerability stems from a timing-sensitive window during the repair process where an attacker could manipulate file operations to gain elevated privileges. VMware Tools 11.x.y is not affected as the vulnerable repair functionality was removed.
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
ToolsApplication
>= 10.0.0, < 11.0.0CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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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Confirm VMware Tools installation on Windows guestCheck Add/Remove Programs or the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.\VMware Tools to verify VMware Tools is installed on the Windows virtual machine.Affected if VMware Tools is not found in the system - the vulnerability only applies if VMware Tools is installed.
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Determine the exact VMware Tools versionOpen Add/Remove Programs and locate VMware Tools in the list, or query the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.\VMware Tools for the InstallPath and Version values. The version will appear as a numeric string such as 10.x.y.Affected if A specific version number cannot be determined - you must confirm the exact version to proceed.
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Compare version against affected rangeCompare the installed version number to the affected range: version must be greater than or equal to 10.0.0 and less than 11.0.0 to be vulnerable. Any version in the 10.x.y series is affected; versions 11.0.0 and above are not vulnerable.Affected if The installed version falls within >= 10.0.0 and < 11.0.0 - this means the vulnerable repair functionality is present in the installation.
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Verify the repair functionality is presentThe vulnerable repair operation was present in VMware Tools 10.x.y versions. Since this functionality was removed entirely in version 11.x.y, any confirmed version < 11.0.0 contains the repair component that has the race condition vulnerability.Affected if The installed version is < 11.0.0 and therefore includes the vulnerable repair operation that can be exploited.
You are affected if VMware Tools is installed on the Windows guest and its version is 10.0.0 or higher but below 11.0.0, as this version range contains the vulnerable repair functionality that was removed in 11.x.y.
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 data11.0.0
Upgrade VMware Tools to version 11.x.y or later, which eliminates the vulnerable repair functionality entirely. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, avoid running repair operations on affected versions.
Fix this in Tools
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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 $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3941 — 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-2020-3941 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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- 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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