Security Resilience

CVE-2020-3950

LPE in Vmware Fusion 11.0.0 – 11.5.2

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCLPE
Published
17 March 2020
Modified
30 October 2025
KEV Added
03 November 2021
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.073 94th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2020-3950 is a high-severity Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269) vulnerability in Vmware Fusion. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 6% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2020-3950 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability affecting VMware Fusion versions 11.x prior to 11.5.2, VMware Remote Console for Mac versions 11.x and earlier prior to 11.0.1, and Horizon Client for Mac versions 5.x and earlier prior to 5.4.0. The flaw stems from improper use of setuid binaries and is assigned CWE-269 with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8.

A local attacker with normal user privileges on a Mac system running any of the affected products can exploit the issue to escalate privileges to root. No user interaction or additional privileges beyond standard local access are required for successful exploitation.

The referenced VMware advisory VMSA-2020-0005 addresses the vulnerability and directs users to apply the fixed versions listed for each product. Public exploit code demonstrating the issue has been posted to PacketStorm Security.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

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…

more

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.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
03 November 2021

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-34045Same product: Vmware Fusion
CVE-2023-34057Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2024-22267Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2024-22251Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2024-22270Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2024-22269Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2025-43306Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2025-43199Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2025-43248Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2025-24183Same product: Apple Macos

Affected Assets

vmware
fusion
11.0.0 — 11.5.2
vmware
horizon client
5.0.0 — 5.4.0
vmware
remote console
11.0.0 — 11.0.1

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.

addresses: CWE-269

Policy addresses roles, responsibilities, and privilege management to prevent improper privilege assignments.

addresses: CWE-269

Access supervision ensures privileges are assigned and managed without improper escalation or retention.

addresses: CWE-269

Assigning group/role memberships and access authorizations (privileges) while reviewing accounts addresses improper privilege management.

addresses: CWE-269

Enforces proper privilege management by requiring all decisions through the verified reference monitor.

addresses: CWE-269

By mandating division of duties across roles, the control enforces proper privilege management and prevents a single entity from controlling an entire sensitive process.

addresses: CWE-269

Implements core proper privilege management by restricting to only required rights.

addresses: CWE-269

Policy requires training on privilege management and least privilege, making it harder to exploit improper privilege management weaknesses.

addresses: CWE-269

Training covers proper privilege management practices, making incorrect privilege assignments less likely.

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.

blocks

A.5.15 directly mandates determining access requirements, defining/enforcing topic-specific access control policy, assigning rights/restrictions by entity/role, consistency with classification, need-to-know, privileged access restrictions, segregation, formal authorization, and dynamic rules — which stops most improper privilege management from being exploitable; bounded remainder is flawed implementation of those rules (e.g. incorrect mapping or enforcement bugs).

blocks

A.5.18 directly governs the provisioning, review, modification and timely revocation of access rights (including for role changes, termination and privilege levels), which stops most improper privilege spheres from being exploitable even if the assignment flaw exists; the bounded remainder is flaws in the underlying enforcement mechanism itself (e.g. AC-3/A.8.3)

blocks

Defining and communicating authorization levels for each role limits the assignment of excessive or unnecessary privileges.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
finds

Logging every use of privileges and protecting those records makes it harder for an attacker who has obtained elevated rights to operate without leaving evidence.

blocks

A.8.2 directly controls the identification, allocation, review, expiry, temporary use, and separation of privileged rights per policy, which prevents most improper privilege management (CWE-269) by design; the bounded remainder is flawed tracking/checking logic inside the product's own enforcement code (the AC-3 slice of 269).

blocks

A.8.27 mandates security-by-design principles including least privilege, default deny, fail securely, defence in depth, security architecture integration, hardening, and zero-trust verification of every request; these directly stop most improper privilege spheres from being exploitable even if the assignment flaw remains, with a bounded remainder (e.g. certain legacy or safety-overridden controls).

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

References