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Cloud FoundationApplication · VMware

CVE-2020-3969

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-06-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.10 / 4.0.1 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 (7.0 before ESXi_7.0.0-1.20.16321839, 6.7 before ESXi670-202004101-SG and 6.5 before ESXi650-202005401-SG), Workstation (15.x before 15.5.5), and Fusion (11.x before 11.5.5) contain an off-by-one heap-overflow vulnerability in the SVGA device. A malicious actor with local access to a virtual machine with 3D graphics enabled may be able to exploit this vulnerability to execute code on the hypervisor from a virtual machine. Additional conditions beyond the attacker's control must be present for exploitation to be possible.

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

An off-by-one heap-overflow vulnerability in the SVGA 3D graphics device allows a local attacker with administrative or root access to a virtual machine with 3D graphics enabled to potentially escape the VM and execute arbitrary code on the hypervisor.

MitigationApply vendor patches to affected VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion versions. As an interim workaround, disable 3D graphics acceleration in VM settings until patches can be applied.

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
Cloud FoundationApplication
Affected:>= 3.0, < 3.10>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.1
FusionApplication
Affected:>= 11.0.0, < 11.5.5
WorkstationApplication
Affected:>= 15.0.0, < 15.5.5
EsxiOperating system
Affected:= 6.5= 6.7= 7.0.0

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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 and version
    Run 'vmware -v' or check the VMware product's About/Help menu to determine the exact version number. Compare against affected ranges: ESXi 6.5, 6.7, 7.0.0; Workstation 15.0.0 to <15.5.5; Fusion 11.0.0 to <11.5.5; Cloud Foundation 3.0 to <3.10 or 4.0.0 to <4.0.1
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of the affected ranges listed for this CVE.
  2. Verify if virtual machines have 3D graphics acceleration enabled
    For each VM, open VM settings and inspect the 'Display' or 'Video Card' configuration. Look for a checkbox or option labeled 'Accelerate 3D graphics' or 'Enable 3D graphics'. In Workstation/Fusion, this is typically under VM > Settings > Display > 'Accelerate 3D graphics'. In vSphere/ESXi, check via Edit Settings > Video card > 'Enable 3D graphics'.
    Affected if 3D graphics acceleration is enabled on any virtual machine running on the affected VMware host.
  3. Confirm VM has SVGA graphics device present
    Check VM hardware configuration for the presence of an SVGA or 'SVGA II' virtual graphics adapter. In vSphere Client, go to VM > Edit Settings > Video card > verify 'SVGAscreen' or 'Auto detect' is selected.
    Affected if The VM is configured with an SVGA virtual graphics device and 3D graphics acceleration is enabled.

You are affected if you are running any affected VMware product version AND you have virtual machines with 3D graphics acceleration enabled, as the exploit requires the SVGA 3D device to be active.

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 3.10 / 4.0.1 / 11.5.5 or later
Fixed in 3.104.0.111.5.5
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches to affected VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion versions. As an interim workaround, disable 3D graphics acceleration in VM settings until patches can be applied.

Fix this in Cloud Foundation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
27.0 hours of engineering $4,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,680.

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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-2020-3969 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