{
  "id": "CVE-2021-21972",
  "url": "https://spydr.io/cve/CVE-2021-21972",
  "published": "2021-02-24T17:15:15.833Z",
  "modified": "2026-08-12T05:17:35.260Z",
  "score": 9.8,
  "severity": "critical",
  "cvss_version": "3.1",
  "vector": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
  "score_source": "NVD",
  "epss": 0.99865,
  "epss_percentile": 0.99962,
  "exploited": true,
  "kev": {
    "added": "2021-11-03",
    "due": "2021-11-17",
    "action": "Apply updates per vendor instructions.",
    "ransomware": "Known",
    "name": "VMware vCenter Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability",
    "notes": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21972"
  },
  "ssvc_exploitation": "active",
  "vendors": [
    "vmware"
  ],
  "products": [
    "VMware vCenter Server",
    "VMware Cloud Foundation"
  ],
  "cwes": [
    "CWE-22"
  ],
  "description": "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).",
  "status": "Analyzed",
  "score_type": "Primary",
  "scores": {
    "cvss_v40": null,
    "cvss_v31": 9.8,
    "cvss_v30": null
  },
  "references": [
    {
      "url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/161590/VMware-vCenter-Server-7.0-Arbitrary-File-Upload.html",
      "tags": [
        "Exploit",
        "Third Party Advisory",
        "VDB Entry"
      ]
    },
    {
      "url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/161695/VMware-vCenter-Server-File-Upload-Remote-Code-Execution.html",
      "tags": [
        "Exploit",
        "Third Party Advisory",
        "VDB Entry"
      ]
    },
    {
      "url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/163268/VMware-vCenter-6.5-6.7-7.0-Remote-Code-Execution.html",
      "tags": [
        "Exploit",
        "Third Party Advisory",
        "VDB Entry"
      ]
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2021-0002.html",
      "tags": [
        "Vendor Advisory"
      ]
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-21972",
      "tags": [
        "US Government Resource"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "nvd_url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21972",
  "covered_in": [],
  "attribution": [
    {
      "source": "NVD",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov",
      "notice": "This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD."
    },
    {
      "source": "CISA KEV",
      "url": "https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog",
      "notice": "Known exploited vulnerabilities from the CISA KEV catalog."
    },
    {
      "source": "FIRST EPSS",
      "url": "https://www.first.org/epss",
      "notice": "Exploit prediction scores from FIRST EPSS."
    }
  ]
}