Tools vulnerability

What happened

VMware Tools for Windows contains an improper authorisation vulnerability due to the way it handles user access controls. A malicious actor with non-administrative privileges on a guest VM, who is already authenticated through vCenter or ESX may exploit this issue to access other guest VMs. Successful exploitation requires knowledge of credentials of the targeted VMs and vCenter or ESX.

Affected versions

Tools: 13.x.x.x through before 13.0.5.0 (custom); 12.x.x through before 12.5.4 (custom); 11.x.x Fixed: See vendor advisory.

Why it matters

Review the vendor advisory and exposure of the affected product to determine operational impact.

Detection & mitigation

• Apply vendor-provided updates or mitigations.
• Review affected product exposure and access logs.