# CVE-2020-3941: Race condition in VMware Tools for Windows (VMware Tools)

> A race condition in VMware Tools for Windows allows local attackers to escalate privileges within the virtual machine.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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:** 15 Jan 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hwqh-393p-ff66

## What is CVE-2020-3941?

CVE-2020-3941 is a high-severity vulnerability in VMware Tools for Windows (VMware Tools), published on 15 Jan 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The repair operation of VMware Tools for Windows 10.x.y has a race condition which may allow for privilege escalation in the Virtual Machine where Tools is installed. This vulnerability is not present in VMware Tools 11.x.y since the affected functionality is not present in VMware Tools 11.

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-3941?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Vmware Tools.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-3941?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-3941 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-3941 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-3941 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in VMware Tools for Windows (VMware Tools)

- [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-2020-3941 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-3941 is a high-severity vulnerability in VMware Tools for Windows (VMware Tools), published on 15 Jan 2020. 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-2020-3941 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: VMware Tools for Windows (VMware Tools). 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-2020-3941/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3941/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-3941
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3941
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-3941

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3941/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.