CVE-2016-5330 is a DLL side loading (untrusted search path) vulnerability in the HGFS (Shared Folders) feature of VMware Tools for Windows. The Host Guest Client Redirector component loads the vmhgfs.dll library using a relative path, allowing an attacker to place a malicious DLL in a network share. If a victim opens a document from this share, the malicious DLL is loaded and executed with the victim's privileges. The vulnerability is present in VMware Tools 10.0.5 and earlier, and is fixed in version 10.0.6.
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1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.
This repository contains a single Metasploit module (Ruby file) that exploits CVE-2016-5330, a DLL side-loading vulnerability in the VMware Host Guest Client Redirector component of VMware Tools on Windows. The exploit works by running a malicious WebDAV server that serves a crafted .docx file and a malicious DLL (vmhgfs.dll). When a victim opens the document from the attacker's share (accessed via a UNC path such as \\<attacker_ip>\documents\Document1.docx), the vulnerable VMware component loads the attacker's DLL, resulting in arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the victim user. The module is configurable for share and file names, and requires the WebDAV Mini-Redirector to be enabled on the target. The payload is a DLL generated by Metasploit, allowing for flexible post-exploitation actions. The main attack vector is network-based, leveraging SMB/WebDAV shares and UNC paths. The module is operational and ready for use within the Metasploit framework.
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1 sources tracked across advisories and community write-ups. News coverage will land here when it surfaces.
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Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.