# CVE-2019-5537: Information disclosure in VMware vCenter Server Appliance

> Man-in-the-middle attackers can intercept sensitive backup data due to missing certificate validation in VMware vCenter Server Appliance.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 28 Oct 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5w52-qrhj-grg8

## What is CVE-2019-5537?

CVE-2019-5537 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Vmware Vcenter Server, published on 28 Oct 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Sensitive information disclosure vulnerability resulting from a lack of certificate validation during the File-Based Backup and Restore operations of VMware vCenter Server Appliance (6.7 before 6.7u3a and 6.5 before 6.5u3d) may allow a malicious actor to intercept sensitive data in transit over FTPS and HTTPS. A malicious actor with man-in-the-middle positioning between vCenter Server Appliance and a backup target may be able to intercept sensitive data in transit during File-Based Backup and Restore operations.

Weakness: CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-5537?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Vmware Vcenter Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-5537?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-5537 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-5537 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-5537 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Vmware Vcenter Server

- [CVE-2026-59310](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-59310/): Broadcom VMware vCenter Path Traversal (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-34048](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-34048/): VMware vCenter Server Out-of-Bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-3952](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3952/): VMware vCenter Server Information Disclosure (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-22017](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22017/): VMware vCenter Server Improper Access Control (medium 5.3, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2342](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2342/): Code injection in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-5537 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-5537 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Vmware Vcenter Server, published on 28 Oct 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-5537 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Vmware Vcenter Server. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5537/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5537/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-5537
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-5537
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-5537

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5537/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.