VMware Tools 12.0 End of Life: March 1, 2027, and the 12.5.4 Fix
VMware Tools 12.0 reaches End of Service on March 1, 2027. Broadcom's product lifecycle prints that date on every 12.0 build, from 12.0.0 (released March 1, 2022) to the last one, 12.0.6. The deadline matters less than a fix the 12.0 line never received: Broadcom fixed the exploited CVE-2025-41244 for the 12.x and 11.x lines only in VMware Tools 12.5.4.
Key Dates at a Glance
- VMware Tools 13.1: end of life 2028-08-12
- VMware Tools 13.0: end of life 2027-09-17
- VMware Tools 12.5: end of life 2029-10-08
- VMware Tools 12.4: end of life 2029-03-21
- VMware Tools 12.3: end of life 2028-08-31
- VMware Tools 12.2: end of life 2028-03-07
- VMware Tools 12.1: end of life 2027-08-23
- VMware Tools 12.0: end of life 2027-03-01
Broadcom's End of Service dates for VMware Tools
| Line | First build released | End of Service |
|---|---|---|
| 12.0 | March 1, 2022 | March 1, 2027 |
| 12.1 | August 23, 2022 | August 23, 2027 |
| 12.2 | March 7, 2023 | March 7, 2028 |
| 12.3 | August 31, 2023 | August 31, 2028 |
| 12.4 | March 21, 2024 | March 21, 2029 |
| 12.5 | October 8, 2024 | October 8, 2029 |
| 13.0 | June 17, 2025 | September 17, 2027 |
| 13.1 | May 12, 2026 | August 12, 2028 |
Each 12.x line ends five years after its first build. The 13.x lines are shorter: 13.0 and 13.1 each end 27 months after their first build. So 12.5 outlives both current 13.x lines. 11.3 already reached End of Service on June 17, 2026. Every build is on the VMware Tools page.
What to do
- Find the guests still on 12.0. vCenter reports the VMware Tools version per VM; templates and powered-off VMs count too. Linux guests usually run open-vm-tools from the distribution instead, and Broadcom says fixed open-vm-tools packages come from the Linux vendors.
- Move to 12.5.4. It is the fixed version for CVE-2025-41244 on the 12.x and 11.x lines (and for the Windows-only CVE-2025-41246 in the same advisory), and the 12.5 line runs to October 8, 2029. Broadcom notes that 12.4.9, part of 12.5.4, covers 32-bit Windows.
- Or move to 13.0.5 or later if your hosts and guest operating systems support the 13.x line, accepting the shorter support window.
- Finish before March 1, 2027, and sooner for any VM managed by Aria Operations with SDMP enabled.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does VMware Tools 12.0 reach end of life?
Broadcom's product lifecycle lists End of Service for VMware Tools 12.0 on March 1, 2027, five years after its first build. Its last build is 12.0.6.
Is VMware Tools 12.0 fixed for CVE-2025-41244?
No. Broadcom's advisory VMSA-2025-0015 lists VMware Tools 12.5.4 as the fixed version for the 12.x and 11.x lines and 13.0.5 for 13.x. CVE-2025-41244 is on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Moving from 12.0 to 12.5.4 both fixes it and extends support to October 8, 2029.
Which VMware Tools version should I move to?
12.5.4 is the latest build of the 12.5 line, which Broadcom supports until October 8, 2029, the longest of any current VMware Tools line. The 13.x lines are newer but shorter: 13.0 ends September 17, 2027 and 13.1 on August 12, 2028.
Related
- VMware Tools — every build and its dates
- VMware ESXi end of life — the hosts the guests run on
- VMware Cloud Foundation end of life — the platform that bundles Tools 13.0.5