dbcve.org
Cloud FoundationApplication · VMware

CVE-2024-22255

HIGH · 7.1 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 →
76/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges 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 an information disclosure vulnerability in the UHCI USB controller. A malicious actor with administrative access to a virtual machine may be able to exploit this issue to leak memory from the vmx process.  

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

VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion contain an information disclosure vulnerability in the UHCI USB controller. A malicious actor with administrative access to a virtual machine may exploit this issue to leak memory from the vmx process, potentially exposing sensitive host-level information.

MitigationApply vendor-provided patches for ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion. Limit administrative access to virtual machines to trusted personnel only, as this is a required attack precondition.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N

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
    Run 'vmware -v' on the host system to determine the installed VMware product (Workstation, Fusion, or ESXi) and its exact version number. For ESXi, you can also use 'esxcli system version get' or check the vSphere Client login screen.
    Affected if The product is Workstation version >= 17.0.0 and < 17.5.1, Fusion >= 13.0.0 and < 13.5.1, ESXi 7.0 or 8.0, or Cloud Foundation version >= 4.0 and <= 5.0
  2. Verify UHCI USB controller is attached to any VM
    For Workstation/Fusion: Open each VM settings and inspect the USB Controller device. For ESXi: Use the vSphere Client to view VM configuration, expand the USB controller section, and check if the controller type is set to UHCI. Alternatively, examine the VM's .vmx file for 'usb_xhci' or 'usb' controller settings.
    Affected if A UHCI USB controller is present and attached to any virtual machine on the affected host
  3. Confirm administrative access to guest VMs exists
    Review who has administrator or root-level access to the virtual machines running on this host. This vulnerability requires a malicious actor with administrative privileges inside the guest VM to exploit the UHCI controller.
    Affected if Non-trusted users have administrative/root access to guest virtual machines on this host

Your environment is affected if you run an affected VMware product version AND have a UHCI USB controller attached to any virtual machine AND non-trusted users have administrative access to those VMs.

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 vendor-provided patches for ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion. Limit administrative access to virtual machines to trusted personnel only, as this is a required attack precondition.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Workstation: 17.5.1+ | Fusion: 13.5.1+ | ESXi: Apply VMSA-2024-0006 patch | Cloud Foundation: Apply corresponding patch

  1. Identify the affected VMware product (ESXi, Workstation, Fusion, or Cloud Foundation) in your environment
  2. Determine the current installed version using the product's built-in version information
  3. For VMware Workstation: Upgrade to version 17.5.1 or later
  4. For VMware Fusion: Upgrade to version 13.5.1 or later
  5. For VMware ESXi: Apply the appropriate patch from VMware security advisory VMSA-2024-0006 or later, or upgrade to a patched ESXi version
  6. For VMware Cloud Foundation: Apply the appropriate patch or upgrade to a patched Cloud Foundation version
  7. Restart the virtual machines if required after applying patches
  8. Verify the fix by checking the updated version
Caveat Standard upgrade considerations apply - test in non-production first, ensure backups exist, review release notes for any behavioral changes

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

Fix this in Cloud Foundation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,080.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-22255 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2024-22255 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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