CVE Intelligence
CISA KEV High Privilege escalation exploit reference

CVE-2020-3950 — VMware Multiple Products Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

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.

Published Mar 17, 2020 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: vmware

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

CISA KEV · Nov 3, 2021 Metasploit modules · 1Exploit-DB · 2
How the score was calculated
  • Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
  • Public exploit/PoC (metasploit, exploitdb)+20
  • EPSS 7.3% (30-day exploitation probability)+14
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Confirmed
CISA KEV, listed Nov 3, 2021
EPSS FIRST
7.25%
ahead of 94% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Vmware
Fusion and 2 more
CVSS base
7.8
High · 4 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
Active
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

CISA required action CISA

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

US federal deadline: May 3, 2022 — passed 1626 day(s) ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Vmware Fusion, Vmware Horizon Client, Vmware Remote Console).
  2. Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
  3. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  4. EPSS ahead of 94% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  5. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (privilege escalation), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Vmware Fusion ≥ 11.0.0 and < 11.5.2 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Vmware Horizon Client ≥ 5.0.0 and < 5.4.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Vmware Remote Console ≥ 11.0.0 and < 11.0.1 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High — — CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
7.2 CVSS 2.0 High 3.9 10.0 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management

Other CVEs with this weakness →

CISA KEV details CISA

CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

Listed
Nov 3, 2021
Federal deadline
May 3, 2022
passed 1626 day(s) ago
Ransomware use
Unknown

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.

Public exploits, PoCs and detection templates

Public code that demonstrates or tests the flaw raises the odds of mass exploitation — and Nuclei templates help find vulnerable assets in your environment.

Metasploit modules
Exploit-DB

Warning: public PoCs are sometimes disguised malware. Use them only for authorized testing in an isolated environment. This portal does not host exploit code — it only points to the sources.

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 7.25%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
  • Hunt retroactively in logs from before Nov 3, 2021 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Affected products added · vmware/fusion, vmware/horizon client, vmware/remote console
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 7.8
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Added to CISA KEV (detected)
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • 2021
  • Added to CISA KEV catalog
    Nov 2, 2021 · CISA
  • 2020
  • CVE published
    Mar 17, 2020 · vmware

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

6 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Vmware
every CVE for this vendor
2021-11
what else CISA listed that month
Privilege escalation
same class
CWE-269
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-59346 VMware Workstation and Fusion VMXNET3 integer-overflow vulnerability 8d
  • CVE-2026-59347 VMware Workstation and Fusion HGFS stack-based buffer-overflow vulnerability 8d
  • CVE-2026-41702 TOCTOU local privilege escalation vulnerability May 15, 2026
  • CVE-2026-22715 VMware Workstation/Fusion NAT vulnerability Feb 26, 2026
  • CVE-2025-22226 VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion Information Disclosure Vulnerability KEV Mar 4, 2025

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2020-3950 is "VMware Multiple Products Privilege Escalation Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Fusion (Vmware); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 7.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 7.25% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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