How severe is CVE-2016-7079?

CVE-2016-7079 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2016-7079 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (29th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-7079?

CVE-2016-7079 primarily affects Vmware Tools. In total, 23 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-7079?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2016-7079 published?

CVE-2016-7079 was published on 2016-12-29 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2016-7079

CVE-2016-7079 is a high-severity vulnerability in Vmware Tools with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8. 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-476.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.8)
CVSS v2: 4.6
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (29th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-476
Affected product: Vmware Tools
Published: 2016-12-29
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

The graphic acceleration functions in VMware Tools 9.x and 10.x before 10.0.9 on OS X allow local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-7080.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-7079?: The graphic acceleration functions in VMware Tools 9.x and 10.x before 10.0.9 on OS X allow local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-7080.
How severe is CVE-2016-7079?: CVE-2016-7079 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2016-7079 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (29th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2016-7079?: CVE-2016-7079 primarily affects Vmware Tools. In total, 23 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2016-7079?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2016-7079 published?: CVE-2016-7079 was published on 2016-12-29 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (23)

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:10.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:10.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:10.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.0.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.0.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.0.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.0.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.0.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.0.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.0.17:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.4.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.4.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.4.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.4.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.4.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.10.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:tools:9.10.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Vmware Tools

CVE-2025-41244 — High (CVSS 7.8): VMware Aria Operations and VMware Tools contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability. A malicious local actor…
CVE-2023-34057 — High (CVSS 7.8): VMware Tools contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability. A malicious actor with local user access to a guest…
CVE-2022-31676 — High (CVSS 7.8): VMware Tools (12.0.0, 11.x.y and 10.x.y) contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability. A malicious actor with…
CVE-2021-21999 — High (CVSS 7.8): VMware Tools for Windows (11.x.y prior to 11.2.6), VMware Remote Console for Windows (12.x prior to 12.0.1) , VMware…
CVE-2016-7080 — High (CVSS 7.8): The graphic acceleration functions in VMware Tools 9.x and 10.x before 10.0.9 on OS X allow local users to gain…
CVE-2016-5330 — High (CVSS 7.8): Untrusted search path vulnerability in the HGFS (aka Shared Folders) feature in VMware Tools 10.0.5 in VMware ESXi 5.0…

All CVEs affecting Vmware Tools →

Other CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) vulnerabilities

CVE-2022-36648 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The hardware emulation in the of_dpa_cmd_add_l2_flood of rocker device model in QEMU, as used in 7.0.0 and earlier,…
CVE-2020-14500 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Secomea GateManager all versions prior to 9.2c, An attacker can send a negative value and overwrite arbitrary data.
CVE-2010-2495 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The pppol2tp_xmit function in drivers/net/pppol2tp.c in the L2TP implementation in the Linux kernel before 2.6.34 does…
CVE-2026-46195 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: validate dacloffset before building…
CVE-2026-31657 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: batman-adv: hold claim backbone gateways by…
CVE-2026-31436 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dmaengine: idxd: fix possible wrong descriptor…

Browse all CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) vulnerabilities →