VMware Workstation Pro 17.5.0

VMware Workstation Pro

VMware Workstation provides a seamless way to access all of the virtual machines you need, regardless of where they are running. Remotely connect to virtual machines running on VMware vSphere, ESXi or another copy of VMware Workstation. Workstation’s web interface lets you access local and server hosted virtual machines from your PC, smart phone, tablet or any device with a modern browser. Run applications on multiple operating systems including Linux, Windows and more at the same time on the same PC without rebooting. Evaluate and test new operating systems, applications and patches in an isolated environment.

Take Your Productivity to the Next Level

Run applications on multiple operating systems including Linux, Windows and more at the same time on the same PC without rebooting.
Evaluate and test new operating systems, applications and patches in an isolated environment.
Demonstrate complex software applications on a single laptop in a repeatable, reliable manner.
Consolidate multiple computers running web servers, database servers, etc. onto a single machine.
Build reference architectures for evaluation before deploying into production.
Simply drag and drop to move your virtual machines from your PC to vSphere, or the cloud.

What's new in VMware Workstation Pro 17.5.0:

New Security Enhancement

This release introduces new security enhancement by providing an improved encryption scheme (XTS instead of CBC) for maximum protection with a reduced performance overhead. Please see https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/93071 for more information.
This release resolves CVE-2023-34044. For more information on these vulnerabilities and their impact on VMware products, see VMSA-2023-0022.

Control Virtual Machines using the VMRUN Commands

You can now control virtual machines using the VMRUN command line utility in Workstation Pro. You can use commands to perform various guest operations such as power on or off, capture snapshots for data backup, manage network adapters, run an executable program, manage files and directories, manage processes running on the operating system, and so on.

Import and Export Virtual Machines with vTPM device

You can now import or export a virtual machine with a vTPM device enabled using the OVF Tool. You can export a virtual machine with vTPM device into an OVF file, and then use the OVF file to import the virtual machine with a vTPM.

Manage Power Operations of Encrypted Virtual Machines using VMREST API

You can now power on/off, suspend, pause, unpause, or retrieve the state of an encrypted virtual machine using the VMREST API service.

VMware Hardware Version 21

Support for up to 256 NVMe devices: 4 controllers and 64 devices per controller
Support for NVMe 1.3 in the following guest operating systems:
Microsoft Windows 11
Microsoft Windows Server 2022

Resolved Issues

The cursor does not appear in the VNC client while remotely controlling a virtual machine - When you configure a virtual machine as a VNC server, the VNC client does not correctly show the mouse cursor for the virtual machine you control.
Unable to decrypt or re-encrypt a virtual machine after changing the disk split value - After you change the value of a disk split for an encrypted virtual machine, you cannot decrypt or re-encrypt the virtual machine.
Linux-based guest operating system boots slowly with the default RAM and CPU for a virtual machine - When you install the following Linux-based guest operating system, the virtual machine might boot slowly or fail to boot:
Fedora
AlmaLinux
Debian
SLES15
Oracle Linux
Photon OS

Other fixes

The mouse cursor offsets from the point of event in Visual Studio - When you use Microsoft Visual Studio on a Windows 10/11 guest operating system, the mouse does not click where the mouse pointer is positioned.
Virtual machine shows BSOD when USB is enabled - When you enable USB in Workstation Pro, the virtual machines fail to start with a BSOD error.
Cannot downgrade the hardware compatibility of a virtual machine - On Workstation Pro 17.0.1 or above, a user cannot downgrade the hardware compatibility version of a Windows 95/98 VM without VMware Tools installed.
Cannot access an encrypted virtual machine with remember password option enabled - While creating an encrypted virtual machine with Windows guest operating system, if you check the option to remember the password, the virtual machine might prompt you to enter the password again when you try to log in.
Wireless bridge connection might not work on a Windows host with DHCP configured - If you use Workstation 17.0.1 or above on a Windows host with DHCP mode configured, a wireless bridge connection might not work on the host operating system.
Cannot start an encrypted virtual machine using VMRUN - Unable to start an encrypted virtual machine using VMRUN command without nogui

Security Issues