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Link Following (Symlink)Weakness · CWE-59

CVE-2025-22247

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
63/100
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 Tools contains an insecure file handling vulnerability. A malicious actor with non-administrative privileges on a guest VM may tamper the local files to trigger insecure file operations within that VM.

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

VMware Tools contains an insecure file handling vulnerability where a malicious actor with non-administrative privileges on a guest VM can tamper local files to trigger insecure file operations within that VM. The vulnerability allows local privilege escalation through file manipulation in the guest operating system.

MitigationApply available VMware security patches and update VMware Tools to the latest patched version. Follow VMware's published remediation guidance for this vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/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. Verify VMware Tools is installed
    On Windows guest: Check 'Programs and Features' for 'VMware Tools' or run 'vmtoolsd --version' in command prompt. On Linux guest: Run 'vmware-toolbox-cmd --version' or check if vmware-tools services are running with 'systemctl status vmware-tools'
    Affected if VMware Tools is not installed, this specific vulnerability does not apply
  2. Determine VMware Tools version
    Windows: Run 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.\VMware Tools' in Registry Editor or use 'vmtoolsd --version'. Linux: Run 'vmware-toolbox-cmd -v' or check '/usr/bin/vmware-tools' version output
    Affected if The installed version matches the vulnerable version range published by VMware for CVE-2025-22247 (compare your version to VMware's official advisory)
  3. Check for non-administrative users on the guest VM
    Windows: Open 'Computer Management' > 'Local Users and Groups' > 'Users' to enumerate non-admin accounts. Linux: Run 'getent passwd' or 'cat /etc/passwd' to list all users with UID >= 1000 (non-system users)
    Affected if Non-administrative user accounts exist on the guest VM, providing a potential attacker account for exploitation
  4. Verify file permission controls on VMware Tools directories
    Windows: Check permissions on 'C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools' folder - verify non-admin users lack write/modify access. Linux: Run 'ls -la /usr/bin/vmware*' and 'ls -la /etc/vmware-tools/' to review file ownership and permissions
    Affected if Non-administrative users have write or modify permissions to VMware Tools executable directories or config files, allowing file tampering
  5. Review VMware Tools file handling components
    Examine VMware Tools configuration files in the guest for custom file handling scripts or tools (check 'C:\ProgramData\VMware\' or '/etc/vmware-tools/' on Linux for suspicious or user-writable scripts)
    Affected if Custom scripts or tools in VMware Tools directories are writable by non-privileged users, enabling the insecure file operation vulnerability

If VMware Tools is installed with a vulnerable version AND non-administrative user accounts exist with write access to VMware Tools directories or configuration files, the guest VM is likely affected by this privilege escalation vulnerability.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply available VMware security patches and update VMware Tools to the latest patched version. Follow VMware's published remediation guidance for this vulnerability.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-22247 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