Critical severity · published Jul 15, 2025
CVE-2025-41238
PVSCSI heap-overflow vulnerability
9.3
CVSS
0.5%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion contain a heap-overflow vulnerability in the PVSCSI (Paravirtualized SCSI) controller that leads to an out of-bounds write. A malicious actor with local administrative privileges on a virtual machine may exploit this issue to execute code as the virtual machine's VMX process running on the host. On ESXi, the exploitation is contained within the VMX sandbox and exploitable only with configurations that are unsupported. On Workstation and Fusion, this may lead to code execution on the machine where Workstation or Fusion is installed.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Changed
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.5% · higher than 40% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
ES
ESXi · VMware
8.0 before ESXi80U3f-24784735; 8.0 before ESXi80U2e-24789317; 7.0 before ESXi70U3w-24784741 · source: vendor
CF
Cloud Foundation · VMware
5.x, 4.5.x · source: vendor
FU
Fusion · VMware
13.x before 13.6.4 · source: vendor
TC
Telco Cloud Infrastructure · VMware
3.x, 2.x · source: vendor
TC
Telco Cloud Platform · VMware
5.x, 4.x, 3.x, 2.x · source: vendor
WO
Workstation · VMware
17.x before 17.6.4 · source: vendor
In the news
VulnerabilityHigh
ZDI-26-190: (Pwn2Own) VMware Workstation PVSCSI Heap-based Buffer Overflow Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of VMware Workstation. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute high-privileged code on the target guest system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The ZDI has assigned a CVSS rating of 8.2. The following CVEs are assigned: CVE-2025-41238.
Mar 16, 2026·Zero Day Initiative
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-41238
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-41238
support.broadcom.com
https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/35877
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