[ CVE-2021-21972 · Published 24 Feb 2021 ]

VMware vCenter Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Exploited · CISA KEV CVSS 9.8 EPSS 100%No fix listed yet

[ Why it matters ]Priority signals

  • Exploited in the wild: on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list since 2021-11-03
  • Known to be used in ransomware campaigns
  • EPSS: 100% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (higher than 100% of CVEs)
  • Critical severity: CVSS 9.8

[ Description ]Official description

The vSphere Client (HTML5) contains a remote code execution vulnerability in a vCenter Server plugin. A malicious actor with network access to port 443 may exploit this issue to execute commands with unrestricted privileges on the underlying operating system that hosts vCenter Server. This affects VMware vCenter Server (7.x before 7.0 U1c, 6.7 before 6.7 U3l and 6.5 before 6.5 U3n) and VMware Cloud Foundation (4.x before 4.2 and 3.x before 3.10.1.2).

CISA: VMware vCenter Server vSphere Client contains a remote code execution vulnerability in a vCenter Server plugin which allows an attacker with network access to port 443 to execute commands with unrestricted privileges on the underlying operating system.

[ Fixes ]Fixes and patches

CISA required action (US federal deadline 17 Nov 2021): Apply updates per vendor instructions.

No fix or interim patch is linked from our sources yet. Check the vendor references below and limit exposure of affected systems until a fix is available.