CVE-2020-3960

Host physical-memory disclosure via virtual NVMe read

Published Sep 15, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Out-of-bounds read in VMware ESXi 6.5 and 6.7, Workstation 15.x before 15.5.5, and Fusion 11.x before 11.5.5 allows local users to read host memory. The virtual NVMe functionality performs an out-of-bounds read, but VMware has not disclosed the affected routine, request field, or missing boundary check. Exploitation requires non-administrative access to a virtual machine configured with a virtual NVMe controller and exposes privileged contents from physical memory.

CVSS severity7.1
High
EPSS probability0.28%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Out-of-bounds read in VMware ESXi 6.5 and 6.7, Workstation 15.x before 15.5.5, and Fusion 11.x before 11.5.5 allows local users to read host memory. The virtual NVMe functionality performs an out-of-bounds read, but VMware has not disclosed the affected routine, request field, or missing boundary check. Exploitation requires non-administrative access to a virtual machine configured with a virtual NVMe controller and exposes privileged contents from physical memory.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-3960
Published
Sep 15, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-125
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 15, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.1VMwareCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
8.4NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:H
3.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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