Skip to main content
ExploitedIn CISA KEVFix available

CVE-2020-3950

Exploitation confirmed. First attested on 2021-11-03 by CISA-ADP, CISA KEV, GCVE · kevintel.

  • Published2020-03-17
  • Fixed in11.5.2
  • WeaknessCWE-269

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

VMware Fusion (11.x before 11.5.2), VMware Remote Console for Mac (11.x and prior before 11.0.1) and Horizon Client for Mac (5.x and prior before 5.4.0) contain a privilege escalation vulnerability due to improper use of setuid binaries. Successful exploitation of this issue may allow attackers with normal user privileges to escalate their privileges to root on the system where Fusion, VMRC or Horizon Client is installed.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2020-03-1719:15CVE publishedNVD
  2. 2020-03-20Exploit-DB entryExploit-DB
  3. 2021-11-03Added to the CISA KEV catalogCISA KEV
  4. 2021-11-03Listed as exploited by GCVEGCVE
  5. 2021-11-03Exploitation first reportedCISA KEV
  6. 2025-01-2918:00SSVC exploitation set to activeCISA-ADP

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-11-04 09:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2020-3950?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2020-3950?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Vmware fusionversion to verify
BranchAffectedFixed in
11.x≥ 11.0.0, < 11.5.211.5.2
Vmware horizon clientversion to verify
BranchAffectedFixed in
5.x≥ 5.0.0, < 5.4.05.4.0
Vmware remote consoleversion to verify
BranchAffectedFixed in
11.0≥ 11.0.0, < 11.0.111.0.1

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Products declared by the CNA1 product

As vmware, the CNA that assigned this CVE, declared them in the CVE record; versions as written.

  • VMware Fusion, VMware Remote Console for Mac and Horizon Client for Mac
    Affected
    • = VMware Fusion (11.x before 11.5.2), VMware Remote Console for Mac (11.x and prior before 11.0.1) and Horizon Client for Mac (5.x and prior before 5.4.0)no fix stated

Source: the CNA record (CVE Program), © The MITRE Corporation,CVE Terms of UseCVE recordupdated 2020-04-03

Fix

  1. Update Vmware fusion to 11.5.2
  2. CISA’s required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.due 2022-05-03

Advisories and patches

Detection

read 2026-11-03 22:42 UTC
Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
EDB-48235EDB-48337
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
none listed
PoC-in-GitHub
Metasploit modules
1 moduleexploit/osx/local/vmware_fusion_lperank: excellentModule metadata: Metasploit Framework, © Rapid7, Inc., BSD-3-Clause.
Metasploit Framework

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Date Added
2021-11-03
Patch Due Date
2022-05-03
Ransomware Use
Unknown
Required Action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Sources

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2020-03-17
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Analyzed
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-fx3w-hj7j-hfgf

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-3950?

VMware Fusion (11.x before 11.5.2), VMware Remote Console for Mac (11.x and prior before 11.0.1) and Horizon Client for Mac (5.x and prior before 5.4.0) contain a privilege escalation vulnerability due to improper use of setuid binaries. Successful exploitation of this issue may allow attackers with normal user privileges to escalate their privileges to root on the system where Fusion, VMRC or Horizon Client is installed.

Is CVE-2020-3950 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2020-3950 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, meaning it has been confirmed as actively exploited in the wild. CISA requires federal agencies to patch by 2022-05-03.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2020-3950?

CVE-2020-3950 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.8 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Hear about the next vulnerability in your software

Surveillance reads the versions in your stack — a domain, a lockfile or a list — checks each CVE against the ranges its sources publish, and alerts you when one you run is exploited or enters CISA KEV. A version it cannot read stays « version not verified ».

Get alerts for this productCISA KEV additions, November 2021Search CVEs

No credit card required · No monthly cap on website lookups · 250 API requests/month

Go further

Related vulnerabilities

Same product first, then the same vendor advisory and the same publication week.

Back to CVE Database

Sources for this record