# CVE-2019-5527: Use after free in ESXi, Workstation, Fusion, VMRC and Horizon Client

> A use-after-free in the virtual sound device allows attackers to execute code or escalate privileges in 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:** 10 Oct 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-r6hj-459q-h63h

## What is CVE-2019-5527?

CVE-2019-5527 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Vmware Esxi, published on 10 Oct 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

ESXi, Workstation, Fusion, VMRC and Horizon Client contain a use-after-free vulnerability in the virtual sound device. VMware has evaluated the severity of this issue to be in the Important severity range with a maximum CVSSv3 base score of 8.5.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-5527?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Vmware Esxi, Vmware Fusion, Vmware Horizon, Vmware Remote Console, Vmware Workstation.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-5527?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-5527 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-5527 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-5527 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## 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-2019-5527 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-5527 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Vmware Esxi, published on 10 Oct 2019. 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-2019-5527 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-2019-5527/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5527/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-5527
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-5527
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-5527

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5527/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.