Known exploited vulnerability
CVE-2021-21972
The short answer
CVE-2021-21972 affects n/a VMware vCenter Server and is rated critical (CVSS 9.8). CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03: attackers are using it, so patch it first.
What it is
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).
Weakness: CWE-22.
Severity
9.8 critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploited (CISA KEV)
Yes, since Nov 3, 2021
Federal due date Nov 17, 2021
EPSS, next 30 days
100%
Higher than 100% of scored CVEs
How it can be exploited
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
What CISA says to do
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Affected products
VMware vCenter Server, VMware Cloud Foundation. NVD's record lists the exact affected versions.
References
- www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2021-0002.html Vendor Advisory
- www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2021-0002.html Vendor Advisory
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-21972 US Government Resource
Questions
Is CVE-2021-21972 being exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2021-21972 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03, with a federal remediation due date of 2021-11-17. CISA lists it as used in ransomware campaigns.
How do I fix CVE-2021-21972?
CISA's required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
From NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS and OSV.dev, checked . Status on NVD: Analyzed. The description is NVD's text, quoted as published.
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