CVE-2020-3999

What it is

VMware ESXi (7.0 prior to ESXi70U1c-17325551), VMware Workstation (16.x prior to 16.0 and 15.x prior to 15.5.7), VMware Fusion (12.x prior to 12.0 and 11.x prior to 11.5.7) and VMware Cloud Foundation contain a denial of service vulnerability due to improper input validation in GuestInfo. A malicious actor with normal user privilege access to a virtual machine can crash the virtual machine's vmx process leading to a denial of service condition.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine with a low-privilege account. High risk of service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.4% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2020-12-21 16:15 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 03:19 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.4% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 6.5 MEDIUM (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2020-12-21 16:15 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 03:19 UTC

Exploit probability

0.4% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-20 · Improper input validation

Record status

Analyzed

Affected

• VMware Workstation < 15.5.7
• VMware Esxi 7.0
• VMware Fusion < 11.5.7

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 6.5

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Changed

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2020-3999.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2020-3999. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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