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FusionApplication · VMware

CVE-2020-3947

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-03-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.5.2 / 15.5.2 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
VMware Workstation (15.x before 15.5.2) and Fusion (11.x before 11.5.2) contain a use-after vulnerability in vmnetdhcp. Successful exploitation of this issue may lead to code execution on the host from the guest or may allow attackers to create a denial-of-service condition of the vmnetdhcp service running on the host machine.

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

Use-after-free vulnerability in the vmnetdhcp component of VMware Workstation (15.x before 15.5.2) and Fusion (11.x before 11.5.2) allows a malicious guest VM to potentially execute code on the host or cause denial of service on the vmnetdhcp service.

MitigationUpgrade VMware Workstation to version 15.5.2 or later, and Fusion to version 11.5.2 or later. Alternatively, disable vmnetdhcp service if 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, < 11.5.2
WorkstationApplication
Affected:>= 15.0.0, < 15.5.2

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
    Check for VMware Workstation or Fusion installation on the system
    Affected if Either VMware Workstation or Fusion is installed
  2. Determine VMware Workstation version
    Locate the Workstation installation and query its version (for example, from the program files or via the vmware command line tools if available)
    Affected if Version is 15.0.0 or higher but lower than 15.5.2
  3. Determine VMware Fusion version
    Locate the Fusion installation and query its version (for example, from the Applications folder or via command line tools if available)
    Affected if Version is higher than 11.0.0 but lower than 11.5.2
  4. Check if vmnetdhcp component is active
    Inspect whether the vmnetdhcp service or daemon is running on the host system
    Affected if vmnetdhcp service is running and the vulnerable product version is present

You are affected if you have VMware Workstation 15.0.0-15.5.1 or Fusion 11.0.1-11.5.1 installed with the vmnetdhcp component enabled and active on your 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 11.5.2 / 15.5.2 or later
Fixed in 11.5.215.5.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade VMware Workstation to version 15.5.2 or later, and Fusion to version 11.5.2 or later. Alternatively, disable vmnetdhcp service if not required.

Fix this in Fusion Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

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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-2020-3947 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