CriticalCVE-2024-38813

    Privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2024-38813)

    Published In CISA KEV since Sources: pwn.watch, SingCERT, CVE.org

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    What is affected, what to do

    The vCenter Server contains a privilege escalation vulnerability. A malicious actor with network access to vCenter Server may trigger this vulnerability to escalate privileges to root by sending a specially crafted network packet.

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. Update cloud_foundation to version 5.2. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.

    Affected
    • VMware vCenter Server gte 8.0..*
    • VMware vCenter Server gte 7.0..*
    • VMware Cloud Foundation eq 5.x..5.x
    • VMware Cloud Foundation eq 4.x..4.x

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    9.8

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    7.5

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: pwn.watch, SingCERT, CVE.org

    17.4 %

    EPSS score

    Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 97.1

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    219.17 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    actively exploited
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    9.8 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    7.5
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

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    17.4 %
    Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    97.1
    Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited
    Published
    In CISA KEV since

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    CISA assessment (SSVC)
    Exploitation: active · not automatable · Technical impact: total
    Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 20 November 2024
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-273, CWE-250

    Response and mitigation

    Why act now?

    Prioritisation rationale

    This flaw is network-reachable without authentication or user interaction. Chained with the companion heap overflow CVE-2024-38812, it yields full root takeover of vCenter, which has been publicly demonstrated. Exploitation likelihood is very high, and vCenter is the control plane attackers want before seizing or encrypting ESXi hosts and every VM on them. CISA does not flag known ransomware use, but vCenter compromise is a classic precursor to exactly that outcome. Treat internet-facing or broadly reachable vCenter instances as critical and patch within 24 hours. Where vCenter sits in a strictly isolated management network, the next emergency maintenance window is defensible, but you must still verify that the incomplete first-round fixes have been superseded.

    1. Runbook step 1

      Immediate response (0-24 h)

      • Inventory: Enumerate every vCenter Server instance (7.0, 8.0) and VMware Cloud Foundation deployment (4.x, 5.x) with exact build numbers (VAMI at https://<vcenter>:5480 or vpxd -v). Anything reachable from the internet or from non-admin networks goes first.
      • Patch: A vendor patch is available. Look up the fixed version in the Broadcom/VMware security advisory for CVE-2024-38813. For Cloud Foundation, the fix is included in 5.2; 4.x needs the async vCenter patch per the advisory. Critically, the initially released fixes for the CVE-2024-38812/CVE-2024-38813 pair were incomplete. Confirm that already-patched systems are on the updated fix level from the latest advisory revision.
      • Restrict network access now: The vendor lists no practical in-product workaround. Until patched, firewall vCenter (443/TCP, 5480/TCP, 22/TCP and DCERPC services) so only a dedicated admin network or jump hosts can reach it. Kill any internet exposure immediately.
      • Check for compromise before patching: Take a snapshot or file-based backup and preserve logs (/var/log/vmware/, /var/log/audit/, /var/log/messages) before updating. This keeps forensics possible if root was already obtained.
      • Rotate credentials if anything looks off: On any sign of compromise, rotate VCSA and ESXi root passwords, administrator@vsphere.local, service accounts holding vCenter privileges, and the STS signing certificates.

    2. Runbook step 2

      Mitigation layers

      • Network segmentation: Keep vCenter in an isolated management VLAN with default-deny inbound and outbound. Allow only admin jump hosts, ESXi management, backup servers and defined monitoring sources. Block VCSA egress to the internet except through approved update proxies.
      • IPS/network signatures: Enable DCERPC inspection for vCenter destinations in Suricata/Snort. Deploy vendor signatures for CVE-2024-38812/38813 (ET Pro, Palo Alto threat IDs, Fortinet IPS, etc.) in blocking mode on the management segment.
      • Appliance hardening: Disable SSH and the Bash shell on the VCSA when not actively needed (VAMI → Access). Restrict VAMI (5480/TCP) to jump hosts.
      • IAM/least privilege: Trim SSO admin group membership and AD identity-source bindings. Enforce MFA for vCenter login via a federated IdP. Route root and SSO-admin access exclusively through PAM with session recording.
      • Resilience: Keep offline or immutable backups of vCenter and ESXi configuration. Root on vCenter effectively means control of every managed ESXi host, so maintain a rebuild plan for the whole virtualisation tier.

    3. Runbook step 3

      Detection rules

      • Process ancestry (auditd/EDR on VCSA): Watch for shells (/bin/bash, /bin/sh, python, perl) running with euid=0 as children of vCenter services such as vmdird, vmafdd, vpxd or rhttpproxy. Sigma shape: ParentImage|endswith: ['/vmdird','/vmafdd','/vpxd'] AND Image|endswith: ['/bash','/sh','/python3'] AND User: root.
      • Service crashes as exploit signal: Look for new core dumps in /storage/core/ or unexpected restarts of DCERPC-related services in /var/log/vmware/vmon/vmon.log. Failed heap-overflow attempts (CVE-2024-38812) often precede the privilege escalation.
      • Persistence and config changes: Set auditd watches on /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, /etc/sudoers, /root/.ssh/authorized_keys and /etc/ssh/sshd_config. Also watch for new systemd units or cron entries, and for SSH or shell being enabled unexpectedly in /var/log/vmware/applmgmt/.
      • Network telemetry (Zeek/Suricata): Flag DCERPC sessions (dce_rpc.log) to vCenter from sources outside the admin net, plus any new VCSA egress to external IPs. Example SPL: index=zeek sourcetype=zeek_dce_rpc dest_ip IN (<vcenter_ips>) NOT src_ip IN (<admin_net>) | stats count by src_ip, endpoint, operation.
      • Follow-on activity in vSphere: In vCenter events (vpxd.log, syslog/SIEM), look for new local or SSO users, Administrator role grants, SSH enabled on ESXi hosts, and mass power-off or snapshot deletion outside change windows.

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    The vCenter Server contains a privilege escalation vulnerability. A malicious actor with network access to vCenter Server may trigger this vulnerability to escalate privileges to root by sending a specially crafted network packet.

    Source: pwn.watch, CSA/SingCERT, NVD (NIST), cvelistv5, CISA KEV Catalog, CVE.org (MITRE)

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    —VMware Cloud Foundation
    • 4.x
    • 5.x
    • —
    • —
    —VMware vCenter Server
    • ≥ 7.0
    • ≥ 8.0
    • —
    • —
    vmwarecloud_foundation
    • 4.0 – < 5.2
    • 5.2
    vmwarevcenter_server
    • 7.0
    • 8.0
    • —
    • —

    Vendors and products

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-273Improper Check for Dropped Privileges

      Base

      The product attempts to drop privileges but does not check or incorrectly checks to see if the drop succeeded.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-273

    • CWE-250Execution with Unnecessary Privileges

      Base

      The product performs an operation at a privilege level that is higher than the minimum level required, which creates new weaknesses or amplifies the consequences of other weaknesses.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-250

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    CISA KEV CatalogCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.govactively exploited

    References & sources

    • support.broadcom.comVMware advisory: CVE-2024-38812Vendor advisory, pwn-watch
    • cisa.govknown-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2024-38813government-resource, US government resource
    • pwn.watchpwn.watch: VMware vCenter Server: 2 actively exploited vulnerabilitiespwn-watch
    • NVD (NIST)NVD: CVE-2024-38812pwn-watch
    • NVD (NIST)NVD: CVE-2024-38813pwn-watch
    • cisa.govCISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalogpwn-watch
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