CVE-2024-22252 | Use-after-free vulnerability

VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion contain a use-after-free vulnerability in the XHCI USB controller. A malicious actor with local administrative privileges on a virtual machine may exploit this issue to execute code as the virtual machine's VMX process running on the host. On ESXi, the exploitation is contained within the VMX sandbox whereas, on Workstation and Fusion, this may lead to code execution on the machine where Workstation or Fusion is installed.

Published: 2024-03-05 Last update: 2025-03-27 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2024-22252 is rated Moderate Risk (54/100): CVSS Critical severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.25%). 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-2024-22252

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 2026-05-05 0.26% 0.25% -0.01%
2 2026-03-24 0.35% 0.26% -0.09%
3 2025-12-28 — 0.35% —

Full EPSS history (18 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2024-22252

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.3 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
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.
 2.5 6.0 [email protected]
6.7 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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.
 0.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2024-22252

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2024-22252

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
vmware workstation >= 17.0.0, < 17.5.1 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:workstation:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_1:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_1a:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_1b:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_1c:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_1d:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_1e:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_2:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_2a:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_2c:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_2d:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_2e:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_3:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_3c:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_3d:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_3e:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_3f:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_3g:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_3i:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_3j:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_3k:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_3l:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_3m:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_3n:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0:update_3o:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 7.0.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:7.0.0:b:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:8.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:8.0:a:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:8.0:b:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:8.0:c:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:8.0:update_1:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:8.0:update_1a:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:8.0:update_1c:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware esxi 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:vmware:esxi:8.0:update_2:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware fusion >= 13.0.0, < 13.5.1 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:fusion:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2024-22252

cvelogic Threat Intelligence