VMware (opens in new tab) has patched a remote code exploitation vulnerability that once again plagued its popular vCenter Server.
The issue this time around existed in a plugin in the vSphere HTML5 client. Whether you used the impacted Virtual SAN Health plugin or not, the fact that it lacks input validation, enabled malicious users to exploit it to execute commands with unrestricted privileges on the underlying operating system that hosts vCenter Server.
vCenter Server helps administer VMware’s vSphere and ESXi host products and is popularly used for managing the virtualization (opens in new tab) instances in data centers (opens in new tab).
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Given vCenter’s popularity and the scope of the vulnerability, it isn’t surprising that the vulnerability has been assigned a maximum severity score of 9.8.
Patch immediately
According to VMware’s security advisory, the vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2021-21985, impacts vCenter Server v6.5, v6.7, and v7.0.
VMware’’s technical marketing architect, Bob Plankers wrote (opens in new tab) about the vulnerability and urged all users to apply the patches without delay.
“This vulnerability can be used by anyone who can reach vCenter Server over the network to gain access, regardless of whether you use vSAN or not,” wrote Plankers asking IT admins to treat the patch as an emergency change, while he shared some tips to apply the patch.
VMware’s apparent urgency isn’t without cause. This is the second vCenter vulnerability this year with a severity rating of 9.8.
Ars Technica reports that malicious users were out scanning the Internet for vulnerable servers soon after the disclosure of the previous vulnerability and it took less than a day for them to write half a dozen proof-of-concept exploits.
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Via Ars Technica (opens in new tab)
