# CVE-2018-6981: Memory corruption in VMware ESXi, VMware Workstation, and VMware Fusion

> A guest VM can execute arbitrary code on the host due to uninitialized stack memory in the vmxnet3 adapter, affecting VMware virtualization products.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** No
- **Published:** 4 Dec 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gg2h-7m29-p3rh

## What is CVE-2018-6981?

CVE-2018-6981 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Vmware Esxi, published on 4 Dec 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

VMware ESXi 6.7 without ESXi670-201811401-BG and VMware ESXi 6.5 without ESXi650-201811301-BG, VMware ESXi 6.0 without ESXi600-201811401-BG, VMware Workstation 15, VMware Workstation 14.1.3 or below, VMware Fusion 11, VMware Fusion 10.1.3 or below contain uninitialized stack memory usage in the vmxnet3 virtual network adapter which may allow a guest to execute code on the host.

Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-6981?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Vmware Esxi, Vmware Fusion, Vmware Workstation.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-6981?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-6981 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-6981 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-6981 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- Use this tool to prioritize cluster patching for the recent VMware advisory VMSA-2018-0027 related to CVE-2018-6981 and CVE-2018-6982. (github_poc): https://github.com/LxKxC/vmxnet3Hunter

## Other vulnerabilities in Vmware Esxi

- [CVE-2026-41709](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-41709/): Broadcom VMWare ESX Insufficient Logging (low 2.7, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-5521](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5521/): Information disclosure in VMware ESXi (critical 9.6)
- [CVE-2024-22252](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-22252/): Use-after-free vulnerability (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2020-3955](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3955/): Cross-site scripting in ESXi (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2010-4573](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-4573/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-6981 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-6981 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Vmware Esxi, published on 4 Dec 2018. 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-2018-6981 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Vmware Esxi. 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-2018-6981/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6981/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-6981
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-6981
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-6981

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6981/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.