What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-3976?

CVE-2020-3976 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.3 (Medium). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L. EPSS exploitation probability: 2.1%.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2020-3976?

Yes, a patch is available for CVE-2020-3976. Update the affected software to the latest version immediately.

ESXi CVE-2020-3976

MEDIUM

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (CWE-400)

2020-08-21 security@vmware.com

Denial Of Service VMware ESXi Cloud Foundation Vcenter Server

5.3

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-400 OWASP Top 10:2025 A06:2025 - Insecure Design ASVS 5.0 V2 - Validation and Business Logic Resource consumption limits MITRE ATT&CK 1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. Sign in to read
Impact	CVSS score of 5.3 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	A remote attacker could cause denial of service by exhausting system resources by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).

Patch available 2.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

VMware ESXi and vCenter Server contain a partial denial of service vulnerability in their respective authentication services. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability could allow attackers to cause denial of service by exhausting system resources.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Implement rate limiting, set resource quotas, validate input sizes, use timeouts.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (CWE-400), which allows attackers to cause denial of service by exhausting system resources. VMware ESXi and vCenter Server contain a partial denial of service vulnerability in their respective authentication services. VMware has evaluated the severity of this issue to be in the Moderate severity range with a maximum CVSSv3 base score of 5.3. Affected products include: Vmware Cloud Foundation, Vmware Vcenter Server, Vmware Esxi.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 5.3 MEDIUM

AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

Low

DescriptionNVD

VMware ESXi and vCenter Server contain a partial denial of service vulnerability in their respective authentication services. VMware has evaluated the severity of this issue to be in the Moderate severity range with a maximum CVSSv3 base score of 5.3.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

2.1%

Top 20% exploitable

Data Quality

2 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity MEDIUM

CISA KEV No

Public POC No

EPSS 2.1%

Patch available Yes

Active threat No

Deciding rule

MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Scheduled

Exploitation· derived

None

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Yes

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +2

CVSS: +26

PoC: 0

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service MEDIUM

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:cloud_foundation:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:-:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:a:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:b:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:c:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:d:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:e:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:f:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update1:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update1b:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update1c:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update1d:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update1e:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update1g:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update2:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update2b:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update2c:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update2d:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update2g:*:*:*:*:*:*

+ 209 more

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References

Advisories & patches

PATCH https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2020-0018.html

Search Externally

GitHub PoC

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