Apps & Cloud
Unlock the value of any cloud and accelerate the delivery of modern applications with VMware Cloud.
Networking
Accelerate modern app operations with network and security virtualization for WAN, data center and cloud.
Workspace
Enable any employee to work anywhere, anytime with seamless employee experiences.
Security
Secure your infrastructure across any app, any cloud and any device.
Solutions by Industry
Explore tailored solutions for your application framework, cloud infrastructure and security architecture.
About VMware Partners
VMware’s global ecosystem of partners helps enterprises be cloud smart.
Why VMware
Build, run, manage, connect and protect all of your apps, anywhere with a digital foundation built on VMware.
Important
Share this page on social media
Sign up for Security Advisories
1. Impacted Products
- VMware vCenter Server (vCenter Server)
- VMware Cloud Foundation (Cloud Foundation)
2. Introduction
A privilege escalation vulnerability in VMware Center Server was privately reported to VMware. Workarounds are available to remediate this vulnerability in the affected VMware products.
3. VMware vCenter Server IWA privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2021-22048)
Description
The vCenter Server contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the IWA (Integrated Windows Authentication) authentication mechanism. VMware has evaluated the severity of this issue to be in the Important severity range with a maximum CVSSv3 base score of 7.1.
Known Attack Vectors
A malicious actor with non-administrative access to vCenter Server may exploit this issue to elevate privileges to a higher privileged group.
Resolution
None.
Workarounds
Workaround for CVE-2021-22048 is to switch to AD over LDAPS authentication OR Identity Provider Federation for AD FS (vSphere 7.0 only) from Integrated Windows Authentication (IWA) as documented in the KB listed in the 'Workarounds' column of the 'Response Matrix' below.
Additional Documentation
None.
Notes
None.
Acknowledgements
VMware would like to thank Yaron Zinar and Sagi Sheinfeld of Crowdstrike for reporting this issue to us.
Response Matrix
| Product | Version | Running On | CVE Identifier | CVSSv3 | Severity | Fixed Version | Workarounds | Additional Documentation |
|
vCenter Server
|
7.0
|
Any
|
CVE-2021-22048
|
important
|
Patch pending
|
None
|
||
|
vCenter Server
|
6.7
|
Any
|
CVE-2021-22048
|
important
|
Patch Pending
|
None
|
||
|
vCenter Server
|
6.5
|
Any
|
CVE-2021-22048
|
important
|
Patch Pending
|
None
|
Impacted Product Suites that Deploy Response Matrix Components:
| Product | Version | Running On | CVE Identifier | CVSSv3 | Severity | Fixed Version | Workarounds | Additional Documentation |
|
Cloud Foundation (vCenter Server)
|
4.x
|
Any
|
CVE-2021-22048
|
important
|
Patch pending
|
None
|
||
|
Cloud Foundation (vCenter Server)
|
3.x
|
Any
|
CVE-2021-22048
|
important
|
Patch Pending
|
None
|
4. References
KB86292
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/86292
Mitre CVE Dictionary Links:
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2021-22048
FIRST CVSSv3 Calculator:
CVE-2021-22048: https://www.first.org/cvss/calculator/3.1#CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
5. Change Log
2021-11-10 VMSA-2021-0025
Initial security advisory.
2021-11-15 VMSA-2021-0025.1
Added vCenter Server 6.5 in the Response Matrix.
6. Contact
E-mail list for product security notifications and announcements:
https://lists.vmware.com/mailman/listinfo/security-announce
This Security Advisory is posted to the following lists:
security-announce@lists.vmware.com
E-mail: security@vmware.com
PGP key at:
VMware Security Advisories
https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories
VMware Security Response Policy
https://www.vmware.com/support/policies/security_response.html
VMware Lifecycle Support Phases
https://www.vmware.com/support/policies/lifecycle.html
VMware Security & Compliance Blog
https://blogs.vmware.com/security
Copyright 2021 VMware Inc. All rights reserved.