Skip to main content

ESXi CVE-2020-3992

CRITICAL
Use After Free (CWE-416)
2020-10-20 security@vmware.com
9.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
Share

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY
9.8 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Added to CISA KEV
Jul 14, 2026 - 04:22 CISA
CVE Published
Oct 20, 2020 - 17:15 nvd
CRITICAL 9.8

DescriptionNVD

OpenSLP 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 use-after-free issue. A malicious actor residing in the management network who has access to port 427 on an ESXi machine may be able to trigger a use-after-free in the OpenSLP service resulting in remote code execution.

AnalysisAI

OpenSLP 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 use-after-free issue. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.

Technical ContextAI

This vulnerability is classified as Use After Free (CWE-416), which allows attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. OpenSLP 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 use-after-free issue. A malicious actor residing in the management network who has access to port 427 on an ESXi machine may be able to trigger a use-after-free in the OpenSLP service resulting in remote code execution. Affected products include: Vmware Cloud Foundation, Vmware Esxi.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Use smart pointers or garbage-collected languages. Set pointers to NULL after freeing. Enable memory sanitizers.

More in ESXi

View all
CVE-2025-22224 CRITICAL
9.3 Mar 04

VMware ESXi and Workstation contain a TOCTOU race condition leading to out-of-bounds write, allowing local administrator

CVE-2017-5753 MEDIUM POC
5.6 Jan 04

Systems with microprocessors utilizing speculative execution and branch prediction may allow unauthorized disclosure of

CVE-2025-22225 HIGH POC
8.2 Mar 04

VMware ESXi contains an arbitrary write vulnerability that allows privileged VMX process users to trigger kernel writes,

CVE-2016-5330 HIGH POC
7.8 Aug 08

Untrusted search path vulnerability in the HGFS (aka Shared Folders) feature in VMware Tools 10.0.5 in VMware ESXi 5.0 t

CVE-2025-22226 HIGH
7.1 Mar 04

VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion contain an information disclosure vulnerability via HGFS out-of-bounds read, allowi

CVE-2019-5544 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Dec 06

OpenSLP as used in ESXi and the Horizon DaaS appliances has a heap overwrite issue. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8),

CVE-2017-16544 HIGH POC
8.8 Nov 20

In the add_match function in libbb/lineedit.c in BusyBox through 1.27.2, the tab autocomplete feature of the shell, used

CVE-2017-4924 HIGH POC
8.8 Sep 15

VMware ESXi (ESXi 6.5 without patch ESXi650-201707101-SG), Workstation (12.x before 12.5.7) and Fusion (8.x before 8.5.8

CVE-2023-29552 HIGH POC
7.5 Apr 25

The Service Location Protocol (SLP, RFC 2608) allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to register arbitrary services.

CVE-2013-1406 HIGH POC
7.2 Feb 11

The Virtual Machine Communication Interface (VMCI) implementation in vmci.sys in VMware Workstation 8.x before 8.0.5 and

CVE-2017-4933 HIGH
8.8 Dec 20

VMware ESXi (6.5 before ESXi650-201710401-BG), Workstation (12.x before 12.5.8), and Fusion (8.x before 8.5.9) contain a

CVE-2017-4905 MEDIUM POC
5.5 Jun 07

VMware ESXi 6.5 without patch ESXi650-201703410-SG, 6.0 U3 without patch ESXi600-201703401-SG, 6.0 U2 without patch ESXi

Share

CVE-2020-3992 vulnerability details – vuln.today

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy