VMware ESXi contains an authentication bypass vulnerability.
- Published
- Last modified
- Where the record stands: published, rejected by its publisher, or superseded by another id.What do these mean? →
- published
- Whether CISA lists it in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: proof that attackers are using it.What do these mean? →
- Listed in CISA KEV
- How many real-world setups can hit the bug, from the vendor's advisory and CISA data. It does not know your setup.What do these mean? →
- Actively exploited
- Fix
- Fixed in ESXi80U3-24022510
- Whether working attack code is public (Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or GitHub). Public code makes attacks easier.What do these mean? →
- None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
Summary
VMware ESXi hosts that were previously configured to use Active Directory for user management are affected. An attacker with sufficient Active Directory permissions can recreate the configured AD group (by default, "ESXi Admins") after it has been deleted, gaining full administrative access to the ESXi host.
Summarized by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5. Verify details against the original sources.
Read the original description
VMware ESXi contains an authentication bypass vulnerability. A malicious actor with sufficient Active Directory (AD) permissions can gain full access to an ESXi host that was previously configured to use AD for user management https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2012/09/joining-vsphere-hosts-to-active-directory.html by re-creating the configured AD group ('ESXi Admins' by default) after it was deleted from AD.
Timeline
- CVE published
- Added to CISA KEV
CISA has evidence of exploitation in the wild
- CISA remediation deadline
Due date for US federal agencies to patch
- Record last updated
- EPSS reached 10%
FIRST estimates at least a 10% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days
Affected versions
- n/a VMware ESXi
From 8.0 · fixed in ESXi80U3-24022510
- n/a VMware Cloud Foundation
5.x, 4.x
References 1
Questions about CVE-2024-37085
What does this mean?
An ESXi host that was set up to use Active Directory for user management gives full host access to anyone who controls an AD group name. If the AD group that grants administrator rights (ESX Admins by default) is deleted and then re-created, ESXi trusts the new group, so a party with enough AD permissions can get full control of the host.Source: support.broadcom.com
Am I affected, and how do I check?
VMware ESXi 8.0 before build ESXi80U3-24022510 is affected, and VMware Cloud Foundation is listed as affected as well. To check, look at the ESXi build number in the host's version details and check whether the host joins Active Directory for user management with an ESX Admins group, which is the default.Source: support.broadcom.com
What should I do about it?
Apply the update listed in the 'Fixed Version' column of VMware's advisory, which is ESXi 8.0 build ESXi80U3-24022510 or later for ESXi 8.0. The advisory does not list a separate fixed version for VMware Cloud Foundation, so check the Cloud Foundation guidance from VMware.Source: support.broadcom.com
Is it being exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2024-07-30, which means it has evidence of attacks. No public exploit code is tracked.Source: cisa.gov, cve.now feed data