VMware vCenter Server Information Disclosure Vulnerability

Under certain conditions, vmdir that ships with VMware vCenter Server, as part of an embedded or external Platform Services Controller (PSC), does not correctly implement access controls.

CheckOps priority index

9.0/10 Patch within 24 h

Severity9.8

Probability9.0

Exploitation4/5

Severity = CVSS. Probability = EPSS (FIRST). Exploitation = public signals: KEV, EUVD, ransomware, EPSS above 10 %, no account required.

EPSS · today 90.4% higher than 99.8% of CVEs

CVSS 3.1 9.8 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:

Exploited for 1,826 days 03 Nov 2021

CISA due date 03 May 2022 for US federal agencies

Exploitation probability EPSS · FIRST

EPSS probability (%)Percentile among all CVEs

Exploitation signals 4 / 5

KEV catalog (CISA)03 Nov 2021
Exploited in EUVD (ENISA)03 Nov 2021
Used by ransomwareno
EPSS above 10 %90.4%
No account, over the networkyes

What to do

Fix

Apply the vendor’s fix as soon as it is available.

CISA guidance: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Meanwhile

Take the service off the internet or restrict access to it, watch the logs and look for signs of compromise.

Manufacturers (CRA)

Exploited vulnerability in your product: early warning to ENISA within 24 h, then notification within 72 h (Article 14 of the Cyber Resilience Act). The CRA explained

Affected products

VMware vCenter ServervCenter Server

Affected versions

vCenter Server 6.7 (embedded or external PSC) prior to 6.7u3f is affected by CVE-2020-3952 if it was upgraded from a previous release line such as 6.0 or 6.5. Clean installations of vCenter Server 6.7 (embedded or external PSC) are not affected.

Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE-306

Open source packages OSV

Affected libraries according to OSV, with fixed versions.

Timeline

10 Apr 2020
Published
03 Nov 2021
Exploitation reported (ENISA)
03 Nov 2021
Added to the KEV catalog
03 May 2022
CISA remediation due date
26 Sept 2026
EPSS peak: 90.4%

References

Other exploited vulnerabilities from the same vendor

CVE-2025-22226VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion Information Disclosure Vulnerability
4.1 · Background exploitation
CVE-2025-22225VMware ESXi Arbitrary Write Vulnerability
5.1 · Background exploitation
CVE-2025-22224VMware ESXi and Workstation TOCTOU Race Condition Vulnerability
5.0 · Background exploitation
CVE-2024-38813VMware vCenter Server Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
5.3 · Background exploitation
CVE-2024-38812VMware vCenter Server Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
8.0 · Background exploitation
CVE-2024-37085VMware ESXi Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
5.9 · Background exploitation