# CVE-2014-4199: Path traversal in n/a

> Local attackers can write to arbitrary files via symlink attacks in VMware Tools, potentially compromising system integrity.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.3 (`AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 28 Aug 2014
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2014-4199, GHSA-v55p-68fc-xxcv, UBUNTU-CVE-2014-4199

## What is CVE-2014-4199?

CVE-2014-4199 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Vmware Workstation, published on 28 Aug 2014. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

vm-support 0.88 in VMware Tools, as distributed with VMware Workstation through 10.0.3 and other products, allows local users to write to arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a file in /tmp.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2014-4199?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Vmware Tools, Vmware Vm-Support, Vmware Workstation.

## How do I fix CVE-2014-4199?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2014-4199 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2014-4199 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Vmware Workstation

- [CVE-2023-34057](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-34057/): Privilege escalation in VMware Tools (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2016-7079](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7079/): Null dereference in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2016-7080](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7080/): Null dereference in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-22977](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22977/): XML external entity in VMware Tools for Windows (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2019-5522](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5522/): Information disclosure in VMware Tools for Windows (high 7.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2014-4199 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2014-4199 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Vmware Workstation, published on 28 Aug 2014. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2014-4199 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Vmware Workstation. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-4199/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-4199/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-4199
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-4199
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2014-4199

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-4199/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.