CVE-2021-21972
VMware vCenter Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
IN CISA KEV
The vSphere Client (HTML5) contains a remote code execution vulnerability in a vCenter Server plugin. A malicious actor with network access to port 443 may exploit this issue to execute commands with unrestricted privileges on the underlying operating system that hosts vCenter Server. This affects VMware vCenter Server (7.x before 7.0 U1c, 6.7 before 6.7 U3l and 6.5 before 6.5 U3n) and VMware Cloud Foundation (4.x before 4.2 and 3.x before 3.10.1.2).
- Vendor
- VMware
- Product
- vCenter Server
- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 (critical), scored by NVD (primary)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 (critical), scored by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CWE
- CWE-22
- Published
- 2021-02-24
- NVD modified
- 2026-08-12
- NVD status
- Analyzed
CISA KEV
- Date added
- 2021-11-03
- Due date
- 2021-11-17
- Ransomware use
- Known
- Required action
- Apply updates per vendor instructions.
EPSS
100% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (percentile 99th)
FIRST EPSS, updated 17 Oct 2026. About EPSS
CVSS is severity, EPSS is likelihood, KEV means already exploited. EPSS is a statistical probability, not a certainty: a low score does not make a bug safe, and a high one does not prove it is being exploited.
References
- www.vmware.com (Vendor Advisory)
- www.vmware.com (Vendor Advisory)
- www.cisa.gov (US Government Resource)
Data last updated 18 Oct 2026. Sources: NVD API 2.0, CISA KEV catalog, FIRST EPSS. Links: NVD, CISA KEV. Metadata only. ThreatWire does not host exploit code.