Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2020-3956

VMware Cloud Director 10.0.x before 10.0.0.2, 9.7.0.x before 9.7.0.5, 9.5.0.x before 9.5.0.6, and 9.1.0.x before 9.1.0.4 do not properly handle input leading to a code injection vulnerability. An authenticated actor may be able to send malicious traffic to VMware Cloud Director which may lead to arbitrary remote code execution. This vulnerability can be exploited through the HTML5- and Flex-based UIs, the API Explorer interface and API access.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 8.8, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 3 products from vmware, from linux, from vmware organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2020, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.

Published

2020-05-20T14:15:11.610

Last Modified

2024-11-21T05:32:02.017

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 8.8 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: SINGLE
Confidentiality Impact: PARTIAL
Integrity Impact: PARTIAL
Availability Impact: PARTIAL

Exploitability Score

8.0

Impact Score

6.4

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-917

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	vmware	vcloud_director	< 9.5.0.6	Yes
Application	vmware	vcloud_director	< 9.7.0.5	Yes
Application	vmware	vcloud_director	< 10.0.0.2	Yes
Operating System	linux	linux_kernel	-	No
Operating System	vmware	photon_os	-	No
Application	vmware	vcloud_director	< 9.1.0.4	Yes
Operating System	linux	linux_kernel	-	No

References

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157909/vCloud-Director-9.7.0.15498291-Remote-Code-Execution.html Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://citadelo.com/en/blog/full-infrastructure-takeover-of-vmware-cloud-director-CVE-2020-3956/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://github.com/aaronsvk/CVE-2020-3956 Exploit, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2020-0010.html Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157909/vCloud-Director-9.7.0.15498291-Remote-Code-Execution.html Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://citadelo.com/en/blog/full-infrastructure-takeover-of-vmware-cloud-director-CVE-2020-3956/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://github.com/aaronsvk/CVE-2020-3956 Exploit, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2020-0010.html Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For vmware's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.