Horizon ClientApplication · VMware
CVE-2020-3987
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 · uneditedVMware Workstation (15.x) and Horizon Client for Windows (5.x before 5.4.4) contain an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Cortado ThinPrint component (EMR STRETCHDIBITS parser). A malicious actor with normal access to a virtual machine may be able to exploit these issues to create a partial denial-of-service condition or to leak memory from TPView process running on the system where Workstation or Horizon Client for Windows is installed.
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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in the Cortado ThinPrint component's EMR STRETCHDIBITS parser in VMware Workstation 15.x and Horizon Client for Windows (before 5.4.4). A malicious actor with normal VM access can exploit this to cause a partial denial-of-service or leak memory from the TPView process on the host system.
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
Horizon ClientApplication
>= 5.0.0, < 5.4.4
Workstation PlayerApplication
>= 15.0.0, < 16.0.0
Workstation ProApplication
>= 15.0.0, < 16.0.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L
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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Identify installed VMware productCheck installed programs for VMware Horizon Client, VMware Workstation Player, or VMware Workstation Pro. On Windows, use 'Programs and Features' or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion' in PowerShell.Affected if Any of the three affected products is installed
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Determine installed versionFor Horizon Client, run 'vmware-view --version' or check the About dialog. For Workstation, run 'vmware --version' or check Help > About VMware Workstation.Affected if Version is 15.x for Workstation (Player or Pro), or between 5.0.0 and 5.4.3 for Horizon Client
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Confirm ThinPrint component presenceCheck for ThinPrint driver or service on the Windows host. Look for 'Cortado ThinPrint' in Windows Services, or search for tpview.exe, tpautoconnect.exe, or tpdd.dll in the VMware installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware View\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\).Affected if ThinPrint components are present on the system
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Verify affected version rangeCompare your exact installed version against the affected ranges: Workstation 15.0.0 to 15.x (before 16.0.0), or Horizon Client 5.0.0 to 5.4.3 (before 5.4.4).Affected if Installed version falls within >= 15.0.0 and < 16.0.0 for Workstation, or >= 5.0.0 and < 5.4.4 for Horizon Client
You are affected if you have VMware Workstation 15.x or VMware Horizon Client 5.0.0-5.4.3 with the ThinPrint component installed on the Windows host.
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 data5.4.416.0.0
Apply the vendor-supplied updates: upgrade VMware Workstation to version 15.x (latest patch) and Horizon Client for Windows to version 5.4.4 or later. Until patched, limit VM access to trusted users only.
Fix this in Horizon Client
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,440.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3987 — 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-2020-3987 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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