CVE-2019-5544
Memory Safety in Vmware Esxi 6.0 … 6.7
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2019-5544 is a critical-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Vmware Esxi. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 0.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
OpenSLP as used in VMware ESXi and Horizon DaaS appliances contains a heap overwrite vulnerability tracked as CVE-2019-5544. The flaw is assigned CWE-787 and carries a CVSSv3 base score of 9.8 reflecting network attack vector, low attack complexity, and no required privileges or user interaction. VMware rates the issue as critical.
An unauthenticated attacker with network access can send specially crafted SLP packets that trigger the out-of-bounds write, resulting in full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the affected system.
Public advisories such as VMware VMSA-2019-0022 and the associated Red Hat errata RHSA-2019:4240 and RHSA-2020:0199 describe available patches and updated OpenSLP packages that remediate the flaw.
No information on observed in-the-wild exploitation is provided in the source references.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2019-15119
Vulnerability Data
OpenSLP as used in ESXi and the Horizon DaaS appliances has a heap overwrite issue. VMware has evaluated the severity of this issue to be in the Critical severity range with a maximum CVSSv3 base score of 9.8.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 03 November 2021
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Out-of-bounds writes that corrupt control flow or inject shellcode are rendered non-executable by the same memory protections.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure-development practices (static analysis, bounds checking, code review) are the primary means of preventing out-of-bounds writes.
Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover out-of-bounds write flaws so they can be remediated.
Patching or replacing vulnerable software directly eliminates known instances of this coding weakness.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development and acceptance can detect and prevent out-of-bounds write defects.
Secure development life cycle mandates practices that prevent out-of-bounds writes.
Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory handling.
Secure architecture and engineering principles reduce the likelihood of buffer overflows.
Secure coding directly addresses out-of-bounds writes through language choice and coding standards.
Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.