CVE-2020-3981· NVD / CVE Program· CNA vmware

VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi_7.0.1-0.0.16850804, 6.7 before ESXi670-202008101-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202007101-SG), Workstation (15.x), Fusi

VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi_7.0.1-0.0.16850804, 6.7 before ESXi670-202008101-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202007101-SG), Workstation (15.x), Fusion (11.x before 11.5.6) contain an out-of-bounds read vulnerability due to a time-of-check time-of-use issue in ACPI device. A malicious actor with administrative access to a virtual machine may be able to exploit this issue to leak memory from the vmx process.

MediumCVSS 5.8 · v3.1—No exploit No fix recorded

BDU:2020-04909

Published: Oct 20, 2020
Updated: Jun 16, 2026
EPSS: 0.8% · 55th percentile
CWE: CWE-125

Follow this CVE

Report tools

JSON

Action score

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS: 23 / 40 · 5.8 / 10
CISA KEV: 0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS: 0 / 30 · 0.8%

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

We don't hand-write analysis for the hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities in the database; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.

We use this product, ask for help

Affected systems

Vendor	Product	CPE
vmware	cloud foundation	cpe:2.3:a:vmware:cloud_foundation
vmware	workstation	cpe:2.3:a:vmware:workstation
vmware	esxi	cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi
vmware	fusion	cpe:2.3:a:vmware:fusion
apple	mac os x	cpe:2.3:o:apple:mac_os_x

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

vmware cloud foundation4.0 and later · before 4.1
vmware cloud foundation3.0 and later · before 3.10.1
vmware esxi6.5
vmware esxi6.7
vmware esxi7.0.0
vmware fusion11.0 and later · before 11.5.6
vmware workstation15.0.0 and later · up to 15.5.6 inclusive

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (vmware). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

n/a VMware ESXi, Workstation, Fusion
- VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi_7.0.1-0.0.16850804, 6.7 before ESXi670-202008101-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202007101-SG), Workstation (15.x), Fusion (11.x before 11.5.6)affected

Same product

vmware: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

CVE-2021-22005The vCenter Server contains an arbitrary file upload vulnerability in the Analytics service.KEV
99Now
CVE-2021-21972The vSphere Client (HTML5) contains a remote code execution vulnerability in a vCenter Server plugin.KEV
99Now
CVE-2020-3992OpenSLP as used in VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi_7.0.1-0.0.16850804, 6.7 before ESXi670-202010401-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202010401-SG) has a KEV
94Now
CVE-2024-38812Heap-overflow vulnerabilityKEV
85Now
CVE-2021-21975Server Side Request Forgery in vRealize Operations Manager API (CVE-2021-21975) prior to 8.4 may allow a malicious actor with network accessKEV
83Now
CVE-2021-21973The vSphere Client (HTML5) contains an SSRF (Server Side Request Forgery) vulnerability due to improper validation of URLs in a vCenter ServKEV
77This week

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).