CVE-2020-4005
VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi70U1b-17168206, 6.7 before ESXi670-202011101-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650...
VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi70U1b-17168206, 6.7 before ESXi670-202011101-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202011301-SG) contains a privilege-escalation vulnerability that exists in the way certain system calls are being managed. A malicious actor with privileges within the VMX process only, may escalate their privileges on the affected system. Successful exploitation of this issue is only possible when chained with another vulnerability (e.g. CVE-2020-4004)
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi70U1b-17168206, 6.7 before ESXi670-202011101-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202011301-SG) contains a privilege-escalation vulnerability that exists in the way certain system calls are being managed. A malicious actor with privileges within the VMX process only, may escalate their privileges on the affected system. Successful exploitation of this issue is only possible when chained with another vulnerability (e.g. CVE-2020-4004)
- Record
CVE-2020-4005- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.2 High
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi70U1b-17168206, 6.7 before ESXi670-202011101-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202011301-SG) contains a privilege-escalation vulnerability that exists in the way certain system calls are being managed. A malicious actor with privileges within the VMX process only, may escalate their privileges on the affected system. Successful exploitation of this issue is only possible when chained with another vulnerability (e.g. CVE-2020-4004)
- Record
CVE-2020-4005- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-25270 No score
VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi70U1b-17168206, 6.7 before ESXi670-202011101-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202011301-SG) contains a privilege-escalation vulnerability that exists in the way certain system calls are being managed. A malicious actor with privileges within the VMX process only, may escalate their privileges on the affected system. Successful exploitation of this issue is only possible when chained with another vulnerability (e.g. CVE-2020-4004)
- Record
EUVD-2020-25270- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-f537-rwg7-cjw7
VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi70U1b-17168206, 6.7 before ESXi670-202011101-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650...
VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi70U1b-17168206, 6.7 before ESXi670-202011101-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202011301-SG) contains a privilege-escalation vulnerability that exists in the way certain system calls are being managed. A malicious actor with privileges within the VMX process only, may escalate their privileges on the affected system. Successful exploitation of this issue is only possible when chained with another vulnerability (e.g. CVE-2020-4004)
- Record
GHSA-f537-rwg7-cjw7- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-269
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-4005 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Vmware Esxi, published November 20, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.39%, the 32nd percentile. No source names a fixed version.