# CVE-2021-22048: Privilege escalation in VMware vCenter Server and VMware Cloud Foundation

> A malicious actor with non-administrative access to vCenter Server can exploit an IWA authentication flaw to elevate privileges to a higher privileged group.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 Nov 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mcvx-m9qp-9vfp

## What is CVE-2021-22048?

CVE-2021-22048 is a high-severity vulnerability in Vmware Cloud Foundation, published on 10 Nov 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The vCenter Server contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the IWA (Integrated Windows Authentication) authentication mechanism. A malicious actor with non-administrative access to vCenter Server may exploit this issue to elevate privileges to a higher privileged group.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-22048?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Vmware Cloud Foundation, Vmware Vcenter Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-22048?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-22048 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-22048 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-22048 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Vmware Cloud Foundation

- [CVE-2024-38812](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38812/): VMware vCenter Server Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-37079](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-37079/): Broadcom VMware vCenter Server Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-22954](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22954/): VMware Workspace ONE Access and Identity Manager Server-Side Template Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-22005](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22005/): VMware vCenter Server File Upload (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-21985](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21985/): VMware vCenter Server Improper Input Validation (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-22048 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-22048 is a high-severity vulnerability in Vmware Cloud Foundation, published on 10 Nov 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-22048 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Vmware Cloud Foundation. 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-2021-22048/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22048/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-22048
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-22048
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-22048

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22048/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.