# CVE-2019-5541: Memory corruption in Workstation and Fusion

> An out-of-bounds write in the e1000e adapter allows guest-to-host code execution or VM denial of service.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 20 Nov 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-w3wx-jc54-pqp4

## What is CVE-2019-5541?

CVE-2019-5541 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Vmware Fusion, published on 20 Nov 2019. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

VMware Workstation (15.x before 15.5.1) and Fusion (11.x before 11.5.1) contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the e1000e virtual network adapter. Successful exploitation of this issue may lead to code execution on the host from the guest or may allow attackers to create a denial-of-service condition on their own VM.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-5541?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Vmware Fusion, Vmware Workstation.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-5541?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-5541 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-5541 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-5541 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Vmware Fusion

- [CVE-2020-3950](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3950/): VMware Multiple Products Privilege Escalation (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-4901](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-4901/): Memory corruption in Fusion Pro / Fusion (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2024-22267](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-22267/): Use after free in VMware Fusion (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2024-38811](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38811/): Code-execution vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-20872](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20872/): Memory corruption in VMware Workstation Pro / Player (Workstation) and VMware Fusion (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-5541 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-5541 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Vmware Fusion, published on 20 Nov 2019. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-5541 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Vmware Fusion. 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-2019-5541/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5541/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-5541
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-5541
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-5541

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5541/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.