FusionApplication · VMware
CVE-2023-20872
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 and Fusion contain an out-of-bounds read/write vulnerability in SCSI CD/DVD device emulation.
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 · moderate confidenceVMware Workstation and Fusion contain an out-of-bounds read/write vulnerability in the SCSI CD/DVD device emulation component. A malicious or compromised guest virtual machine could potentially exploit this memory corruption vulnerability to escape VM isolation and execute code on the host system with elevated privileges.
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
= 13.0.0
WorkstationApplication
= 17.0.0CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if VMware virtualization software is installedOn Windows, check Programs and Features or run 'vmware -v' from command prompt. On macOS, check /Applications for VMware Fusion.app or use 'mdfind kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier | grep vmware'.Affected if VMware Workstation or VMware Fusion is present on the system
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Determine installed VMware versionRun 'vmware -v' on Windows or 'vmrun -T fusion list' on macOS, or right-click the VMware icon and select 'About VMware Workstation/Fusion'. Compare the version number to 17.0.0 for Workstation or 13.0.0 for Fusion.Affected if The installed version equals 17.0.0 for Workstation or 13.0.0 for Fusion (exact version match)
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Check for existing virtual machines with CD/DVD devicesOpen VMware Workstation or Fusion, select each VM, go to VM Settings, and examine the CD/DVD (or CDROM) hardware device. Look for connected ISO files or Host Device options.Affected if Any virtual machine has a CD/DVD device configured and connected to an ISO or physical drive
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Identify running VMs with CD/DVD emulation activeOpen the VM inventory, right-click each VM, select 'Settings', and verify the CD/DVD status. A VM is vulnerable only if it has the CD/DVD device present and powered on.Affected if A running or powered-on VM has the SCSI CD/DVD device emulation enabled
You are affected if VMware Workstation 17.0.0 or VMware Fusion 13.0.0 is installed AND any virtual machine has an active CD/DVD device configured.
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 dataApply the latest VMware Workstation or Fusion security patches. If the CD/DVD device is not required for specific VMs, consider removing it to reduce the attack surface.
Fix this in Fusion
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $2,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20872 — 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-2023-20872 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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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.
- 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