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Cloud FoundationApplication · VMware

CVE-2024-22253

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.5.1 / 17.5.1 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 use-after-free vulnerability in the UHCI USB controller. 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 · moderate confidence

Use-after-free vulnerability in VMware's UHCI USB controller emulation. An attacker with local administrative privileges on a virtual machine can exploit this memory corruption issue to escape VM isolation and execute code as the VMX process on the host system. On ESXi the impact is sandboxed to VMX, while Workstation and Fusion deployments face full host code execution.

MitigationApply available VMware security patches for ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion. Consider disabling unnecessary USB controller passthrough to reduce attack surface 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:>= 4.0, <= 5.0
WorkstationApplication
Affected:>= 17.0.0, < 17.5.1
EsxiOperating system
Affected:= 7.0= 7.0.0= 8.0
FusionApplication
Affected:>= 13.0.0, < 13.5.1

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/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 VMware product and version
    On the host system, run 'vmware -v' for Workstation/Fusion, or check ESXi/Cloud Foundation via 'vmware -v' or the vSphere Client inventory
    Affected if The product is VMware Workstation < 17.5.1, Fusion < 13.5.1, ESXi 7.0/8.0, or Cloud Foundation 4.0-5.0
  2. Verify UHCI USB controller is present
    Open VM settings and inspect the USB controller configuration, or review the VM's .vmx file for lines containing 'usb.present' and 'ehci.present' or 'uhci.present'
    Affected if A USB controller (especially UHCI or EHCI) is attached to the virtual machine
  3. Confirm USB passthrough is enabled
    Check VM settings for USB device passthrough options, or examine the VM's configuration for usb.generic.autoconnect or similar passthrough settings
    Affected if USB devices can be passed through to the VM or the USB controller is actively available to the guest OS

A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable VMware product version AND has a UHCI USB controller enabled for the virtual machine, allowing a privileged attacker inside the VM to escape to the host.

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 13.5.1 / 17.5.1 or later
Fixed in 13.5.117.5.1
Interim mitigation

Apply available VMware security patches for ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion. Consider disabling unnecessary USB controller passthrough to reduce attack surface until patches can be applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Workstation: 17.5.1 or later; Fusion: 13.5.1 or later; ESXi/Cloud Foundation: see VMware security advisory for specific patch version

  1. Identify the specific VMware product in use (ESXi, Workstation, Fusion, or Cloud Foundation) and confirm current version
  2. For VMware Workstation: Upgrade to version 17.5.1 or later
  3. For VMware Fusion: Upgrade to version 13.5.1 or later
  4. For VMware ESXi: Obtain and apply the appropriate patch from VMware security advisory VMSA-2024-0006
  5. For VMware Cloud Foundation: Obtain and apply the appropriate patch from VMware security advisory VMSA-2024-0006
  6. After applying the update, verify the new version is running and the vulnerability is resolved
Caveat Review VMware release notes before upgrading for any compatibility or configuration changes

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

Fix this in Cloud Foundation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
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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-2024-22253 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