Vulnerability

CVE-2020-3950

High· 7.8KEVEXPLOITCVSS7.8EPSS16%

.rules3/5

VMware Multiple Products Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

VMware Fusion, Remote Console (VMRC) for Mac, and Horizon Client for Mac contain a privilege escalation vulnerability due to improper use of setuid binaries that allows attackers to escalate privileges to root.

Threat signal

96/100

Severe

Severity

high

CVSS

7.8

EPSS

16%

Active

KEV

CISA KEV — actively exploited

1502d overdue

AffectedVMware — Multiple Products

Added to KEV

2021-11-03

Federal patch due (BOD 22-01)

2022-05-03

Required action (CISA verbatim)

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Vendor advisory + references

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3950

CISA description: “VMware Fusion, Remote Console (VMRC) for Mac, and Horizon Client for Mac contain a privilege escalation vulnerability due to improper use of setuid binaries that allows attackers to escalate privileges to root.”

CVSS

v3.1Open in FIRST calculator →

7.8/ 10HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack VectorLocalRequires local access — shell, console, or local app.
Attack ComplexityLowNo special conditions — exploit works reliably.
Privileges RequiredLowStandard user privileges sufficient.
User InteractionNoneFully automated — no victim action needed.
ScopeUnchangedImpact contained to the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality ImpactHighTotal disclosure of sensitive data.
Integrity ImpactHighTotal compromise of integrity — full data modification possible.
Availability ImpactHighTotal loss of availability — full DoS possible.

EPSS

Exploit prediction · 30-day horizonFIRST.org →

16.1%

probability of exploitation in next 30 days

p95

higher than 95% of all CVEs

3-day trend↑ 0pp

Above the FIRST 'patch on a priority schedule' threshold.

Vendor VEX

No VEX statements published for CVE-2020-3950. Vendors publish VEX (Vulnerability Exploitability eXchange) to assert per-product whether a CVE is actually exploitable in their distribution.

SSVCAct

Active exploitation with total impact on essential/support systems

exploitation: active
automatable: no
impact: total
mission: support

Lifecycle

2021-11-03Added to CISA KEVransomware: Unknown
2021-11-03Public exploit observedexploitdb, metasploit
2021-11-03Published
2022-05-03Federal patch due (BOD 22-01)
2026-06-12Last modified1 source

No source-event history recorded yet. New revisions will appear here as ingestors re-fetch this CVE.