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CVE-2020-3992

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 trig…

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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 9.8 (CRITICAL) KEV: KNOWN CATALOG

Attention and evidence

HYPE SCORE
0.0/10
REALITY · THREAT PRIORITY
8.9/10
General review priority; not probability

Evidence confidence: Exploitation recorded

Why this priority?
  • Recorded exploitation baseline: +7.00
  • Technical severity: CVSS 9.8: +1.47
  • Fresh EPSS: 83.02%: +0.42

General review priority, not probability, victim count or asset-specific risk. A range covers missing CVSS/EPSS inputs within the current evidence state.

Sources: 11 documents and public datasets.

Hype components

Headline sample (25%)
0/100
Press, 30 days (60%)
0/100
Grounded branding (15%)
0/100
HYPE TOTAL0/100

Sources and documents

INCIBE
Press · 02 Oct 2023, 07:00 · ESXiArgs: response and recovery actions - INCIBE
TechTarget
Press · 15 May 2023, 07:00 · CrowdStrike warns of rise in VMware ESXi hypervisor attacks - TechTarget
CrowdStrike
Press · 15 May 2023, 07:00 · Hypervisor Jackpotting, Part 3: Lack of Antivirus Support Opens the Door to Adversary Attacks - CrowdStrike
TechTarget
Press · 15 May 2023, 07:00 · CrowdStrike warns of rise in VMware ESXi hypervisor attacks - TechTarget
TechTarget
Press · 09 Feb 2023, 08:00 · Thousands of victims apparently hit by ESXiArgs ransomware - TechTarget
See all 11 source documents
GreyNoise
Press · 08 Feb 2023, 08:00 · Exploit Vector Analysis of Emerging ‘ESXiArgs’ Ransomware (a.k.a. Wow do I hate ESXi Threat Intel [right now]) - GreyNoise
Recorded Future
Press · 07 Feb 2023, 08:00 · ESXiArgs Ransomware Targets Publicly-Exposed ESXi OpenSLP Servers - Recorded Future
BleepingComputer
Press · 12 Dec 2022, 08:00 · New Python malware backdoors VMware ESXi servers for remote access - BleepingComputer
Qualys
Press · 09 Jun 2021, 07:00 · DarkSide Ransomware - Qualys
thezdi.com
Press · 02 Mar 2021, 08:00 · CVE-2020-3992 & CVE-2021-21974: Pre-Auth Remote Code Execution in VMware ESXi - thezdi.com
Rapid7
Press · 11 Nov 2020, 08:00 · VMware OpenSLP Remote Code Execution Details - Rapid7

Score evolution

● Hype   ● Reality

Earlier evidence-support scores are retained in history; this chart shows only the current priority definition.

First record: hype 0.0 · reality 8.9 (2026-11-02 15:12). The curve appears once the score changes.

Public exploit evidence

2

Public exploit entries / repo candidates

See 2 repos with metrics
RepositoryStarsForksLanguageUpdated
dgh05t/VMware_ESXI_OpenSLP_PoCs6821Python05 Feb 2021, 06:40
ceciliaaii/CVE_2020_399210Python07 Jan 2024, 14:19
Evidence context and dated references

Reality is general threat/review priority, combining observed exploitation, CVSS severity and fresh EPSS. Evidence confidence is separate. This is not calibrated risk, a victim count or an asset-specific assessment. A range reflects missing numeric inputs.

Evidence in context

Confidence in exploitation evidence
Exploitation recorded
Priority basis
Recorded exploitation; CVSS 9.8; EPSS 83.0%
Attention, last 30 days
0 distinct story titles; 0 press documents; 0 publisher domains.
Technical potential
network access, no prior privileges, no user interaction.
Observed activity
Exploitation recorded in CISA KEV.
Known scale
Not quantified.
Evidence confidence basis
Trusted exploitation confirmation

Score evaluated: 2026-11-05 13:58:19.609425+00:00 · EPSS snapshot: 2026-11-05T12:03:04Z

Source event timeline
Published
20 Oct 2020, 16:11
First press mention
11 Nov 2020, 08:00
Added to the CISA KEV catalog
03 Nov 2021, 00:00
Latest press mention
02 Oct 2023, 07:00
Score calculated
05 Nov 2026, 13:58
PoCs on GitHub
2 repositories