# CVE-2019-5531: Information disclosure in VMware vCenter Server

> Attackers with physical access or websocket mimicry can hijack VM consoles after user logout due to insufficient session expiration in VMware vSphere and vCenter.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 18 Sep 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7623-hj89-p4cw

## What is CVE-2019-5531?

CVE-2019-5531 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Vmware Esxi, published on 18 Sep 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

VMware vSphere ESXi (6.7 prior to ESXi670-201810101-SG, 6.5 prior to ESXi650-201811102-SG, and 6.0 prior to ESXi600-201807103-SG) and VMware vCenter Server (6.7 prior to 6.7 U1b, 6.5 prior to 6.5 U2b, and 6.0 prior to 6.0 U3j) contain an information disclosure vulnerability in clients arising from insufficient session expiration. An attacker with physical access or an ability to mimic a websocket connection to a user’s browser may be able to obtain control of a VM Console after the user has logged out or their session has timed out.

Weakness: CWE-613 (DEPRECATED: Insufficient Session Expiration)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-5531?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Vmware Esxi, Vmware Vcenter Server, Vmware Vsphere Esxi.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-5531?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-5531 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-5531 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-5531 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-2019-5531 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-5531 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Vmware Esxi, published on 18 Sep 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-5531 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-2019-5531/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5531/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-5531
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-5531
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-5531

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5531/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.