#VU22413 Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls in VMware Workstation - CVE-2019-5511

Vulnerability identifier: #VU22413

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.9 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2019-5511

CWE-ID: CWE-264

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
VMware Workstation
Client/Desktop applications / Virtualization software

Vendor: VMware, Inc

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to the affected software running on Windows does not handle paths appropriately. A local authenticated user can hijack the path to the VMX executable on a Windows host and elevate privileges on the target system.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

VMware Workstation: 14.0 - 15.0.2

---

External links
https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2019-0002.html

---

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.