{"id":59539,"date":"2025-07-21T13:22:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T13:22:33","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-09-28T06:48:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T12:48:24","slug":"cve-2025-41236-critical-integer-overflow-vulnerability-in-vmware-s-vmxnet3-virtual-network-adapter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-41236-critical-integer-overflow-vulnerability-in-vmware-s-vmxnet3-virtual-network-adapter\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2025-41236: Critical Integer-Overflow Vulnerability in VMware&#8217;s VMXNET3 Virtual Network Adapter<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An alarming vulnerability, CVE-2025-41236, has been discovered in VMware&#8217;s ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion products. This vulnerability exists within the VMXNET3 virtual network adapter and poses a significant threat to virtual machines running these VMware products. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-46835-high-risk-vulnerability-in-git-gui-allows-unauthorized-file-overwrite\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"66846\">vulnerability is of particular concern because it allows<\/a> a malicious actor with local administrative privileges to potentially execute code on the host system. Understanding and mitigating this issue is crucial for maintaining the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-46917-critical-integrity-validation-vulnerability-in-diebold-nixdorf-vynamic-security-suite\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"86085\">security and integrity<\/a> of virtual environments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<br \/>\n<strong>CVE ID<\/strong><br \/>\n: CVE-2025-41236<br \/>\n&#8211;<br \/>\n<strong>Severity<\/strong><br \/>\n: Critical (9.3 CVSS Severity Score)<br \/>\n&#8211;<br \/>\n<strong>Attack Vector<\/strong><br \/>\n: Local<br \/>\n&#8211;<br \/>\n<strong>Privileges Required<\/strong><br \/>\n: High (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-26396-local-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-solarwinds-dameware-mini-remote-control\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"70056\">Local Administrative Privileges<\/a>)<br \/>\n&#8211;<br \/>\n<strong>User Interaction<\/strong><br \/>\n: None<br \/>\n&#8211;<br \/>\n<strong>Impact<\/strong><br \/>\n: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-7027-critical-firmware-vulnerability-enabling-arbitrary-memory-writes-leading-to-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"69590\">Potential system<\/a> compromise and data leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-188797440\" class=\"ameeb-content-2 ameeb-entity-placement\"><div style=\"border-left: 4px solid #555; padding-left: 20px; margin: 48px 0; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6; max-width: 720px;\">\r\n  <h2 style=\"margin-top: 0; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 600; display: flex; align-items: center; letter-spacing: -0.02em;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"display: inline-flex; align-items: center; margin-right: 10px;\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Best-App-icon-Ameeba.png\" alt=\"Ameeba Chat Icon\" style=\"width: 42px; height: 42px;\" \/>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    Share secrets securely\r\n  <\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 14px; color: #d1d5db;\">\r\n    Ameeba is private infrastructure for communication and sensitive work built on encrypted identity instead of exposed corporate identity systems.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 18px; color: #a1a1aa;\">\r\n    Passwords, credentials, confidential files, screenshots, internal discussions, sensitive AI context, and private coordination should not become exposed across ordinary communication platforms.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <ul style=\"list-style: none; padding-left: 0; margin-bottom: 24px; color: #e4e4e7;\">\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 Encrypted identity<\/li>\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 Private Spaces for organizations and teams<\/li>\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, files, and notes<\/li>\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 Sensitive AI work and protected collaboration<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Built for information that cannot leak<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 24px; color: #ffffff;\">\r\n    Our mission is to secure human work alongside AI.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <div style=\"display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 12px;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\/download\" style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 8px; font-weight: 500;\">\r\n      Download Ameeba\r\n    <\/a>\r\n\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"border: 1px solid #ffffff; color: #ffffff; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 8px; font-weight: 500;\">\r\n      Learn More\r\n    <\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-41238-critical-heap-overflow-vulnerability-in-vmware-esxi-workstation-and-fusion\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"69589\">VMware ESXi<\/a> | All versions with VMXNET3<br \/>\nVMware Workstation | All versions with VMXNET3<br \/>\nVMware Fusion | All versions with VMXNET3<\/p>\n<p><strong>How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-52950-unauthorized-access-exploitation-in-juniper-networks-security-director\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"71339\">exploit utilizes an integer-overflow vulnerability in the VMXNET3 virtual network<\/a> adapter. An attacker with local administrative privileges on the virtual machine can manipulate specific <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-53652-jenkins-git-parameter-plugin-unvalidated-input-vulnerability\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"68619\">parameters or data inputs<\/a> to trigger an overflow condition. This overflow can cause the system to behave unpredictably, potentially allowing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-50460-remote-code-execution-vulnerability-in-ms-swift-project\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"71486\">code execution<\/a> on the host.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-1315400250\" class=\"ameeb-content ameeb-entity-placement\"><div class=\"poptin-embedded\" data-id=\"f6b387694f681\"><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Given that this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-49886-critical-php-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability-in-webgeniuslab-zikzag-core\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"66126\">vulnerability requires local<\/a> access, an attacker might use a shell command similar to the following to exploit the condition:<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">$ echo -ne &quot;\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00&quot; &gt; \/dev\/vmxnet3\n$ echo -ne &quot;\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00&quot; &gt; \/dev\/vmxnet3<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>This simplified example is just to illustrate the concept of an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-30404-integer-overflow-vulnerability-in-executorch-resulting-in-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"75965\">integer overflow<\/a>. The actual exploit would likely involve more complex manipulation of the network adapter&#8217;s parameters.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mitigation and Remediation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The most effective <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-52376-authentication-bypass-vulnerability-in-nexxt-solutions-ncm-x1800-mesh-router\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"75478\">solution to address this vulnerability<\/a> is to apply the vendor-supplied patch. VMware has released patches that fix this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-43245-critical-downgrade-issue-affecting-multiple-macos-versions\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"81788\">issue in the affected<\/a> products. If it is not immediately possible to apply these patches, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can provide temporary mitigation. However, these should not be considered long-term solutions, as they don&#8217;t address the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-52688-critical-vulnerability-allowing-root-command-injection-on-access-point\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"70100\">root cause of the vulnerability<\/a>.<br \/>\nPlease ensure to follow your organization&#8217;s patch management policy and apply the patches immediately to mitigate the risk associated with CVE-2025-41236.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview An alarming vulnerability, CVE-2025-41236, has been discovered in VMware&#8217;s ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion products. This vulnerability exists within the VMXNET3 virtual network adapter and poses a significant threat to virtual machines running these VMware products. The vulnerability is of particular concern because it allows a malicious actor with local administrative privileges to potentially execute [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[93],"product":[107],"attack_vector":[],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-59539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","vendor-vmware","product-vmware-esxi"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59539"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78878,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59539\/revisions\/78878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59539"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=59539"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=59539"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=59539"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=59539"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=59539"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=59539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}