Service crash and file disclosure via crafted XML
Published May 24, 2022 · Updated Jun 2, 2026
XXE in VGAuthService in VMware Tools for Windows 10.x.y, 11.x.y, and 12.0.0 allows local users to crash the service or read files. VGAuthService reads attacker-controlled XML catalog and schema files from a writable, incorrectly encoded Program Files path and resolves external entities through libxml2. Non-administrative access to the Windows guest is required; a malformed catalog prevents service startup, while file disclosure works only when content forms a valid URI.
Summary
What happened
XXE in VGAuthService in VMware Tools for Windows 10.x.y, 11.x.y, and 12.0.0 allows local users to crash the service or read files. VGAuthService reads attacker-controlled XML catalog and schema files from a writable, incorrectly encoded Program Files path and resolves external entities through libxml2. Non-administrative access to the Windows guest is required; a malformed catalog prevents service startup, while file disclosure works only when content forms a valid URI.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-22977
- Published
- May 24, 2022
- Updated
- Jun 2, 2026
- Vendor
- VMware
- Product
- VMware Tools
- Classifications
- CWE-611, T1005, T1489
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 24, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jun 2, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=VMware Tools for Windows (12.0.0, 11.x.y and 10.x.y)
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Rapid7 VGAuthService crafted XML demonstrationproof of concept · demonstrated
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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