vmware-hgfsmounter in VMware Open Virtual Machine Tools (aka open-vm-tools) 8.4.2-261024 and earlier attempts to append to the /etc/mtab fi…

published 2011-04-10 15 y ago modified 2026-06-16 4 mo ago also EUVD-2011-1681

cvss: 3.3; version 2.0, NVD
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 0.4%; EPSS 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 38%
public exploits: 0; none known

vmware-hgfsmounter in VMware Open Virtual Machine Tools (aka open-vm-tools) 8.4.2-261024 and earlier attempts to append to the /etc/mtab file without first checking whether resource limits would interfere, which allows local users to trigger corruption of this file via a process with a small RLIMIT_FSIZE value, a related issue to CVE-2011-1089.

Patch / fix

distros 1

open-vm-tools Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 2:8.4.2+2011.08.21-471295-1

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2011-1681

Exploit prediction

0.45% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 38% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

Exploits and checks

bugzilla.redhat.com https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=688980 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
openwall.com http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/03/31/3 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
NVD	2.0	3.3	AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N

Classification

Weakness

CWE-16 Configuration

References

bugzilla.redhat.com /show_bug.cgi?id=688980
exploit
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/31/3
mailing-list, exploit
hermes.opensuse.org /messages/8711677
vendor-advisory
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com /vulnerabilities/66699
vdb-entry
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/14/5
mailing-list
secunia.com /advisories/44904
third-party-advisory
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/04/9
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/22/6
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/22/4
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/05/7
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/07/9
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/04/01/2
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/04/10
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/14/16
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/31/4
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/04/12
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/14/7
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/04/11
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/05/3
mailing-list
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2011/03/15/6
mailing-list

Sources

CVE List CVE-2011-1681
NVD CVE-2011-1681

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

Summary