Horizon ClientApplication · VMware
CVE-2020-3988
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 (JPEG2000 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 JPEG2000 parser within VMware Workstation 15.x and Horizon Client for Windows 5.x before 5.4.4. This allows a malicious actor with normal VM access to leak memory from the TPView process or cause a partial denial-of-service condition.
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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Check if VMware Workstation is installedOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product' in PowerShell to list installed software. Look for 'VMware Workstation' or 'VMware Player'.Affected if VMware Workstation Pro or Player appears in the installed programs list
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Get the installed VMware Workstation versionRight-click the VMware Workstation icon, select 'About VMware Workstation', or check the version in Programs and Features. Alternatively, run 'vmware -v' from the command line if available.Affected if The version number is 15.x (any patch level) which falls within the affected range >= 15.0.0 and < 16.0.0
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Check if VMware Horizon Client is installedLook in Programs and Features for 'VMware Horizon Client' or run 'Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product' to enumerate installed software.Affected if VMware Horizon Client appears in the installed programs list
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Get the installed Horizon Client versionRight-click the VMware Horizon Client icon and select 'About', or check the version in Programs and Features under the installed Horizon Client entry.Affected if The version is >= 5.0.0 and < 5.4.4, placing it within the affected range
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Verify ThinPrint component presence (optional confirmation)Check for ThinPrint-related files or services in the VMware installation directory, typically found under the VMware Horizon or ThinPrint subdirectories.Affected if ThinPrint or Cortado components are present, confirming the vulnerable parser exists in the environment
You are affected if VMware Workstation Pro/Player version 15.x or VMware Horizon Client version 5.0.0 through 5.4.3 is installed, as these versions contain the vulnerable Cortado ThinPrint JPEG2000 parser component.
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
Update VMware Workstation to version 15.5.7 or later, and Horizon Client for Windows to version 5.4.4 or later to obtain the patched Cortado ThinPrint component.
Fix this in Horizon Client
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 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 $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3988 — 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-2020-3988 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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