How severe is CVE-2020-3968?

CVE-2020-3968 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.2, rated high 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-2020-3968 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (43rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-3968?

CVE-2020-3968 primarily affects Vmware Cloud Foundation. In total, 179 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-3968?

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-2020-3968 published?

CVE-2020-3968 was published on 2020-06-25 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-3968

CVE-2020-3968 is a high-severity vulnerability in Vmware Cloud Foundation with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.2. 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-787.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 8.2)
CVSS v2: 4.6
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (43rd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-787
Affected product: Vmware Cloud Foundation
Published: 2020-06-25
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi_7.0.0-1.20.16321839, 6.7 before ESXi670-202004101-SG and 6.5 before ESXi650-202005401-SG), Workstation (15.x before 15.5.5), and Fusion (11.x before 11.5.5) contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the USB 3.0 controller (xHCI). A malicious actor with local administrative privileges on a virtual machine may be able to exploit this issue to crash the virtual machine's vmx process leading to a denial of service condition or execute code on the hypervisor from a virtual machine. Additional conditions beyond the attacker's control must be present for exploitation to be possible.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-3968?: VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi_7.0.0-1.20.16321839, 6.7 before ESXi670-202004101-SG and 6.5 before ESXi650-202005401-SG), Workstation (15.x before 15.5.5), and Fusion (11.x before 11.5.5) contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the USB 3.0 controller (xHCI). A malicious actor with local administrative privileges on a virtual machine may be able to exploit this issue to crash the virtual machine's vmx process leading to a denial of service condition or execute code on the hypervisor from a virtual machine. Additional conditions beyond the attacker's control must be present for exploitation to be possible.
How severe is CVE-2020-3968?: CVE-2020-3968 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.2, rated high 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-2020-3968 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (43rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-3968?: CVE-2020-3968 primarily affects Vmware Cloud Foundation. In total, 179 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-3968?: 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-2020-3968 published?: CVE-2020-3968 was published on 2020-06-25 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (179)

cpe:2.3:a:vmware:cloud_foundation:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:fusion:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:workstation:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201701001:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201703001:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201703002:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201704001:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707101:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707102:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707103:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707201:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707202:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707203:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707204:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707205:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707206:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707207:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707208:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707209:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707210:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707211:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707212:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707213:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707214:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707215:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707216:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707217:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707218:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707219:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707220:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201707221:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201710001:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201712001:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201803001:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201806001:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201808001:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201810001:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201810002:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:6.5:650-201811001:*:*:*:*:*:*

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