SOC status:Duty analyst on shift

UK Cyber Defence
VulnerabilityModified

CVE-2009-3281

The vmx86 kernel extension in VMware Fusion before 2.0.6 build 196839 does not use correct file permissions, which allows host OS users to gain privileges on the host OS via unspecified vectors.

EXPLOIT ✓HIGH 7.2EPSS 0.93%

Does this matter?

A public exploit is published in Exploit-DB (verified) and the impact is high, while EPSS rates exploitation at 0.9%. Anyone can run this; patch or mitigate before the next change window and check exposed instances for signs of use.

Description

The vmx86 kernel extension in VMware Fusion before 2.0.6 build 196839 does not use correct file permissions, which allows host OS users to gain privileges on the host OS via unspecified vectors.

CVSS 2.0
7.2 HIGHAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
EPSS
0.93% probability · 60th percentile
Public exploits
1 in Exploit-DB · verified · first 2 October 2009
CISA KEV
Not listed
Weakness
CWE-264
Affected
vmware/fusion
Source
cve@mitre.org
EPSS trend
0%3%5%26 October 2026: 0.93%26 October 202626 October 2026

EPSS 0.9% since 26 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.

Public exploits (1)

Entries in Exploit-DB that cite this CVE. Links go to the Exploit-DB page and to the file in the public repository; nothing is hosted here. A verified tick means the Exploit-DB team confirmed the exploit works against the stated version.

EDB-IDTitleTypePublishedVerified
EDB-10076source ↗VMware Fusion 2.0.5 - vmx86 kext Kernel Privilege Escalationosx · mu-blocal2 October 2009yes

References

Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.