# CVE-2024-38818: Privilege escalation in VMware NSX, VMware Cloud Foundation

> An authenticated attacker can exploit a local privilege escalation flaw in VMware NSX to gain unauthorized permissions from a different group role.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 Oct 2024
- **Updated:** 9 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gq89-59qv-xpr2

## What is CVE-2024-38818?

CVE-2024-38818 is a medium-severity vulnerability in VMware NSX, VMware Cloud Foundation, published on 9 Oct 2024. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

VMware NSX contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability. 

An authenticated malicious actor may exploit this vulnerability to obtain permissions from a separate group role than previously assigned.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-38818?


## How do I fix CVE-2024-38818?

No fix has been published for CVE-2024-38818 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2024-38818 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-38818 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-38818 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-38818 is a medium-severity vulnerability in VMware NSX, VMware Cloud Foundation, published on 9 Oct 2024. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-38818 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: VMware NSX, 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-2024-38818/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38818/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-38818
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-38818
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38818

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38818/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.