VMware ESXi Auth Bypass via Recreating AD Group
CVE-2024-37085 Published on June 25, 2024
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.
Known Exploited Vulnerability
This VMware ESXi Authentication Bypass Vulnerability is part of CISA's list of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities. 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 by re-creating the configured AD group ('ESXi Admins' by default) after it was deleted from AD.
The following remediation steps are recommended / required by August 20, 2024: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2024-37085 can be exploited with network access, requires user interaction and user privileges. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. This vulnerability is known to be actively exploited by threat actors. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to be very high.
Weakness Type
Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness
The authentication algorithm is sound, but the implemented mechanism can be bypassed as the result of a separate weakness that is primary to the authentication error.
Products Associated with CVE-2024-37085
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Exploit Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.