CVE-2019-5543

For VMware Horizon Client for Windows (5.x and prior before 5.3.0), VMware Remote Console for Windows (10.x before 11.0.0), VMware Workstation for Windows (15.x before 15.5.2) the folder containing configuration files for the VMware USB arbitration service was found to be writable by all users. A local user on the system where the software is installed may exploit this issue to run commands as any user.

Published: 2020-03-16 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2019-5543 is rated Moderate Risk (41.5/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.11%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2019-5543

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-03-01 0.03% 0.11% +0.07%
2 2025-03-30 0.07% 0.03% -0.03%
3 2025-03-29 0.07%

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2019-5543

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 5.9 [email protected]
7.2 2.0 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
3.9 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2019-5543

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2019-5543

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
vmware horizon_client >= 5.0.0, < 5.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:horizon_client:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware remote_console >= 10.0.0, < 11.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:remote_console:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware workstation >= 15.0.0, < 15.5.2 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:workstation:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2019-5543

cvelogic Threat Intelligence