CVE-2020-3992OpenSLP as used in VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi_7.0.1-0.0.16850804, 6.7 before ESXi670-202010401-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202010401-SG) has…
- 9.8CriticalCVSS base score
- 83.0%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 0.3% of all CVEs
- YesKnown exploitedin CISA's KEV since 3 Nov 2021
- YesPublic exploitsa reference or SSVC says so
Description
OpenSLP as used in VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi_7.0.1-0.0.16850804, 6.7 before ESXi670-202010401-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202010401-SG) has a use-after-free issue. A malicious actor residing in the management network who has access to port 427 on an ESXi machine may be able to trigger a use-after-free in the OpenSLP service resulting in remote code execution.
Exploited in the wild
CISA lists this vulnerability in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as VMware ESXi OpenSLP Use-After-Free Vulnerability.
- Added
- 3 Nov 2021
- Fix due (US federal)
- 3 May 2022
- Used by ransomware
- Known
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
ENISA's EU Vulnerability Database lists it as exploited, from CISA's KEV, since 3 Nov 2021.
Public exploit
An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. CISA's SSVC rates its exploitation: it is being exploited.
Timeline
ID reserved
By vmware
- 10 months later
· 10 months later
Published
- 13 months later
· 13 months later
Added to CISA KEV
Known exploited, also by ransomware
- 5 years later
· 5 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CISA-ADPADP (enrichment) | 3.1 | Critical9.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Analyzed | 3.1 | Critical9.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 83.0% · top 0.3% of all CVEs (13 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Technical impact: total
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Critical 9.8.
Affected products
VMware ESXi
- affected VMware ESXi (7.0 before ESXi_7.0.1-0.0.16850804, 6.7 before ESXi670-202010401-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202010401-SG)
References
References4
- https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2020-0023.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1377/ (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1385/ (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-3992 (opens in a new tab)government-resource
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- CISA KEV catalog (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2020-25257 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2020-3992)Record last updated .