CVE-2020-3989 Memory corruption in VMware Workstation and Horizon Client for Windows

Low 3.3 Published 16 Sep 2020 Updated 4 Aug 2024

A malicious actor with VM access can cause a partial denial of service via an out-of-bounds write in the Cortado ThinPrint component when virtual printing is enabled.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: None listed

What is CVE-2020-3989?

CVE-2020-3989 is a low-severity memory corruption vulnerability in VMware Workstation and Horizon Client for Windows, published on 16 Sep 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

VMware Workstation (15.x) and Horizon Client for Windows (5.x before 5.4.4) contain a denial of service vulnerability due to an out-of-bounds write issue in Cortado ThinPrint component. A malicious actor with normal access to a virtual machine may be able to exploit this issue to create a partial denial-of-service condition on the system where Workstation or Horizon Client for Windows is installed. Exploitation is only possible if virtual printing has been enabled. This feature is not enabled by default on Workstation but it is enabled by default on Horizon Client.

Weakness: CWE-787

Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-3989?

It affects 3 products.

Products include Vmware Horizon Client, Vmware Workstation Player, Vmware Workstation Pro.

How do I fix CVE-2020-3989?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-3989 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.

Is CVE-2020-3989 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-3989 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Sources

Also known as GHSA-mxr8-pvvp-fw5r.