Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2021-22015


The vCenter Server contains multiple local privilege escalation vulnerabilities due to improper permissions of files and directories. An authenticated local user with non-administrative privilege may exploit these issues to elevate their privileges to root on vCenter Server Appliance.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8, requiring local system access to exploit 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 2 products from vmware, from vmware organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2021, 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

2021-09-23T13:15:07.827

Last Modified

2024-11-21T05:49:26.590

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 7.8 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

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

  • Access Vector: LOCAL
  • Access Complexity: LOW
  • Authentication: NONE
  • Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
  • Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
  • Availability Impact: COMPLETE
Exploitability Score

3.9

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-552

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Application vmware cloud_foundation < 5.0 Yes
Application vmware vcenter_server 6.5 Yes
Application vmware vcenter_server 6.7 Yes
Application vmware vcenter_server 7.0 Yes

References

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.