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WorkstationApplication · VMware

CVE-2022-31705

HIGH · 8.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.2.5 / 16.2.5 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
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, Workstation, and Fusion contain a heap out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the USB 2.0 controller (EHCI). A malicious actor with local administrative privileges on a virtual machine may exploit this issue to execute code as the virtual machine's VMX process running on the host. On ESXi, the exploitation is contained within the VMX sandbox whereas, on Workstation and Fusion, this may lead to code execution on the machine where Workstation or Fusion 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 confidence

Heap out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the USB 2.0 controller (EHCI) in VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion. An attacker with local administrative privileges on a virtual machine can exploit this to write to arbitrary heap memory and execute code as the VMX process on the host. On ESXi the exploit is contained within the VMX sandbox, while on Workstation/Fusion it can lead to code execution on the host OS.

MitigationApply VMware security patches for ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion. Remove or disable unnecessary USB controller passthrough to reduce attack surface. Restrict VM administrative privileges where possible.

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
WorkstationApplication
Affected:>= 16.0.0, < 16.2.5
EsxiOperating system
Affected:= 7.0= 8.0
FusionApplication
Affected:>= 12.0.0, < 12.2.5

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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
    On Windows: check Add/Remove Programs or vmware -v from command line. On Linux: vmware -v or rpm -qa | grep -i vmware. On ESXi: esxcli system version get
    Affected if Product is Workstation < 16.2.5, Fusion < 12.2.5, or ESXi 7.0/8.0
  2. Locate VMX configuration file for target VMs
    VMX files are typically in the VM directory with extension .vmx. On Workstation/Fusion: ~/Documents/Virtual Machines/ or /Users/<user>/Virtual Machines/. On ESXi: /vmfs/volumes/<datastore>/<vmname>/
    Affected if The VMX file exists and corresponds to an affected VMware product version
  3. Check if EHCI USB controller is configured in VMX
    Open the VMX file and search for lines containing 'ehci' or 'usb' controllers, such as 'ehci.present = TRUE' or 'usb.present = TRUE'
    Affected if EHCI or USB 2.0 controller is present and enabled in the VM configuration (ehci.present = TRUE)
  4. Verify USB controller passthrough is enabled
    In VMX file, check for 'usb.present = TRUE' and confirm the USB controller type is EHCI (usb.pciSlotNumber' values between 0x10-0x1F typically indicate EHCI)
    Affected if USB 2.0 (EHCI) controller is passthrough-enabled to the virtual machine

You are affected if you run an affected VMware version (Workstation < 16.2.5, Fusion < 12.2.5, or ESXi 7.0/8.0) AND have a USB 2.0 EHCI controller attached to a virtual machine with local administrative access.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 12.2.5 / 16.2.5 or later
Fixed in 12.2.516.2.5
Interim mitigation

Apply VMware security patches for ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion. Remove or disable unnecessary USB controller passthrough to reduce attack surface. Restrict VM administrative privileges where possible.

Recommended fix High confidence

VMware Workstation 16.2.5+, VMware Fusion 12.2.5+, and ESXi security patches for 7.0/8.0

  1. Upgrade VMware Workstation to version 16.2.5 or later
  2. Upgrade VMware Fusion to version 12.2.5 or later
  3. For ESXi, apply the corresponding security patch for ESXi 7.0 and ESXi 8.0 from VMware's security advisories

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Workstation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2022-31705 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