How severe is CVE-2009-1142?

CVE-2009-1142 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.7, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2009-1142 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (18th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2009-1142?

CVE-2009-1142 affects Vmware Open Vm Tools. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2009-1142?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2009-1142 published?

CVE-2009-1142 was published on 2022-11-23 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

CVE-2009-1142

CVE-2009-1142 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Vmware Open Vm Tools with a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.7. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-59.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 6.7)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (18th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-59
Affected product: Vmware Open Vm Tools
Published: 2022-11-23
Last modified: 2026-06-16

Description

An issue was discovered in open-vm-tools 2009.03.18-154848. Local users can gain privileges via a symlink attack on /tmp files if vmware-user-suid-wrapper is setuid root and the ChmodChownDirectory function is enabled.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2009-1142?: An issue was discovered in open-vm-tools 2009.03.18-154848. Local users can gain privileges via a symlink attack on /tmp files if vmware-user-suid-wrapper is setuid root and the ChmodChownDirectory function is enabled.
How severe is CVE-2009-1142?: CVE-2009-1142 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.7, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2009-1142 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (18th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2009-1142?: CVE-2009-1142 affects Vmware Open Vm Tools. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2009-1142?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2009-1142 published?: CVE-2009-1142 was published on 2022-11-23 and last updated on 2026-06-16.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:open_vm_tools:2009.03.18-154848:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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