CVE-2020-3992

CRITICALNVD 9.89.8—
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 9.8 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 9.8 retained for reference. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: cisa_kev, epss, ghsa, nvd
Trending — 4 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild
9.8
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS: 83%CVSS: 9.8Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

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.

CVSS v3
9.8
EG Score
9.8(high)
EG Risk
99(Act)
EG Risk 99/100SSVC: Act

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity98% × 45%
Exploitation100% × 40%
Automatability100% × 15%
Action: Fix now — active exploitation, automatable, high impact.
EPSS
99.6%
KEV
⚠ Exploited

Published

October 20, 2020

Last Modified

October 30, 2025

Advisory Details (4)

Auto-updated Jun 1, 2026
⚠️ Active exploitation confirmed. Patch available. Sources: cisa.
cisa Patch Available🔴 Active Exploitation

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA. Listed in CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-3992
generic

ZDI-20-1385 | Zero Day Initiative

https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1385/
generic

ZDI-20-1377 | Zero Day Initiative

https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1377/
generic

Support Content Notification - Support Portal - Broadcom support portal

https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2020-0023.html

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 41× in last 7d / 203× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 389 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-07-24 14:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-07-23 01:53 UTCEG score recompute
  3. 2026-07-23 00:07 UTCEG score recompute
  4. 2026-07-23 00:07 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-07-22 22:40 UTCEG score recompute
  6. 2026-07-22 20:08 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-07-22 19:40 UTCCISA KEV update
  8. 2026-07-22 16:09 UTCEG score recompute
  9. 2026-07-22 16:09 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-07-22 14:05 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-07-22 12:08 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-07-22 08:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-07-22 04:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-07-22 00:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-07-21 20:02 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-07-21 16:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-07-21 14:37 UTCCISA KEV update
  18. 2026-07-21 12:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-07-21 08:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-07-21 04:07 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-07-21 00:08 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-07-20 20:10 UTCEG score recompute
  23. 2026-07-20 20:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-07-20 17:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-07-20 17:04 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-07-20 16:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  2. 2026-07-20 12:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-07-20 08:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  4. 2026-07-20 04:13 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-07-20 00:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-07-19 20:15 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-07-19 16:15 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-07-19 12:16 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-07-19 08:13 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-07-19 04:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-07-19 00:15 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-07-18 20:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-07-18 16:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-07-18 12:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-07-18 08:21 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-07-18 04:22 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-07-18 00:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-07-17 20:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-07-17 16:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-07-17 12:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-07-17 08:26 UTCEG score recompute
  22. 2026-07-17 08:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-07-17 04:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-07-17 00:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-07-16 20:31 UTCGHSA enrichment
  26. 2026-07-16 17:04 UTCCISA KEV update
  27. 2026-07-16 16:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  28. 2026-07-16 12:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  29. 2026-07-16 08:34 UTCGHSA enrichment
  30. 2026-07-16 04:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  31. 2026-07-16 00:36 UTCGHSA enrichment
  32. 2026-07-15 20:38 UTCGHSA enrichment
  33. 2026-07-15 16:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-07-15 16:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  35. 2026-07-15 16:49 UTCCISA KEV update
  36. 2026-07-15 16:39 UTCGHSA enrichment
  37. 2026-07-15 15:04 UTCCISA KEV update
  38. 2026-07-15 12:41 UTCGHSA enrichment
  39. 2026-07-15 08:41 UTCGHSA enrichment
  40. 2026-07-15 04:43 UTCGHSA enrichment
  41. 2026-07-15 00:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  42. 2026-07-14 20:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  43. 2026-07-14 18:05 UTCCISA KEV update
  44. 2026-07-14 16:45 UTCGHSA enrichment
  45. 2026-07-14 12:46 UTCGHSA enrichment
  46. 2026-07-14 08:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  47. 2026-07-14 04:48 UTCGHSA enrichment
  48. 2026-07-14 00:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
  49. 2026-07-13 22:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  50. 2026-07-13 22:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  51. 2026-07-13 20:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  52. 2026-07-13 17:07 UTCCISA KEV update
  53. 2026-07-13 16:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
  54. 2026-07-13 12:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  55. 2026-07-13 08:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  56. 2026-07-13 04:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
  57. 2026-07-13 00:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  58. 2026-07-12 20:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  59. 2026-07-12 16:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  60. 2026-07-12 12:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  61. 2026-07-12 09:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  62. 2026-07-12 05:02 UTCGHSA enrichment
  63. 2026-07-12 01:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  64. 2026-07-11 21:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  65. 2026-07-11 17:08 UTCGHSA enrichment
  66. 2026-07-11 13:09 UTCGHSA enrichment
  67. 2026-07-11 09:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  68. 2026-07-11 08:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  69. 2026-07-11 08:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  70. 2026-07-11 05:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  71. 2026-07-11 01:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  72. 2026-07-10 21:13 UTCGHSA enrichment
  73. 2026-07-10 17:52 UTCCISA KEV update
  74. 2026-07-10 17:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  75. 2026-07-10 13:16 UTCGHSA enrichment

Publicly available exploits

(2 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (2 GitHub PoCs). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • GitHub PoCdgh05t/VMware_ESXI_OpenSLP_PoCs
    First seen Feb 4, 2021

    CVE-2020-3992 & CVE-2019-5544

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCHynekPetrak/CVE-2019-5544_CVE-2020-3992
    First seen Dec 1, 2020

    Python / scapy module implementing SRVLOC/SLP protocol and scans for enabled OpenSLP services.

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2020-3992?
CVE-2020-3992 is a critical vulnerability published on October 20, 2020. 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…
When was CVE-2020-3992 disclosed?
CVE-2020-3992 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on October 20, 2020, with the most recent update on October 30, 2025. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2020-3992 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2020-3992 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on November 3, 2021, affecting VMware ESXi. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate patching attention.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-3992?
CVE-2020-3992 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD).
Which products are affected by CVE-2020-3992?
CVE-2020-3992 affects VMware ESXi. The full affected-products list, including version ranges and fixed versions, is shown in the Affected Packages section of this page.
How do I remediate CVE-2020-3992?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2020-3992, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

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