What is CVE-2018-6981?

CVE-2018-6981 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple Mac OS X, classified under Use of Uninitialized Resource. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2018-12-04.

How severe is CVE-2018-6981?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2018-6981 known to be exploited?

24 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Vulnerability in Apple Mac OS X

CVE-2018-6981

VMware ESXi 6.7 without ESXi670-201811401-BG and VMware ESXi 6.5 without ESXi650-201811301-BG, VMware ESXi 6.0 without ESXi600-201811401-BG, VMware Workstation 15, VMware Workstation 14.1.3 or below, VMware Fusion 11, VMware Fusion 10.1.3 or below contain uninitialized stack memory usage in the vmxnet3 virtual network adapter which may allow a guest to execute code on the host.

Published 2018-12-04 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.013 (70.5th percentile), scored 2026-10-20.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 70th percentile — 70.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.013 · newest: 0.013 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Apple Mac OS X
VMware Esxi — versions 6.0, 6.5, 6.7
VMware Fusion — versions 11.0.0
VMware Esxi, Workstation, And Fusion — versions VMware ESXi 6.7 without ESXi670-201811401-BG, VMware ESXi 6.5 without ESXi650-201811301-BG, VMware ESXi 6.0 without ESXi600-201811401-BG, VMware Workstation 15, VMware Workstation 14.1.3 or below, VMware Fusion 11, VMware Fusion 10.1.3 or below
VMware Workstation — versions 15.0.0

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-908 — Use of Uninitialized Resource

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

www.securitytracker.com/id/1042055 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/105881 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry)
www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2018-0027.html (Vendor Advisory)
www.securitytracker.com/id/1042054 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-6981?: CVE-2018-6981 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple Mac OS X, classified under Use of Uninitialized Resource. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2018-12-04.
How severe is CVE-2018-6981?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2018-6981 known to be exploited?: 24 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.