Security Resilience

CVE-2021-22005

Path Traversal in Vmware Vcenter Server 6.5 … 7.0

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRansomware-linkedPath Traversal
Published
23 September 2021
Modified
30 October 2025
KEV Added
03 November 2021
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.99 100.0th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2021-22005 is a critical-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Vmware Vcenter Server. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 0.0% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

The vCenter Server contains an arbitrary file upload vulnerability in the Analytics service, tracked as CVE-2021-22005 with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8. The flaw is also associated with CWE-22 and affects the component reachable over the network on the standard HTTPS port.

A malicious actor with network access to port 443 on vCenter Server may exploit this issue to execute code on the server by uploading a specially crafted file. No authentication or user interaction is required, enabling remote code execution with full impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

The primary vendor advisory is VMware VMSA-2021-0020, which provides official guidance on affected versions and remediation steps. The vulnerability is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, confirming observed real-world exploitation activity. Public exploit code has also been published via Packet Storm.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The vCenter Server contains an arbitrary file upload vulnerability in the Analytics service. A malicious actor with network access to port 443 on vCenter Server may exploit this issue to execute code on vCenter Server by uploading a specially crafted…

more

file.

CWE(s)
CWE-22
KEV Date Added
03 November 2021

Related Threats

Threat-Actor AttributionAI

Microsoft Corp. (Salesforce / Slack engineer recruitment claims)
Top CVEs Actively Exploited By People’s Republic of China State-Sponsored Cyber Actors | CISA
HAFNIUM (G0125)
Top CVEs Actively Exploited By People’s Republic of China State-Sponsored Cyber Actors | CISA
AnonOps
Top CVEs Actively Exploited By People’s Republic of China State-Sponsored Cyber Actors | CISA

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
attack.mitre.org →
T1016.001 Internet Connection Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may check for Internet connectivity on compromised systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1018 Remote System Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of other systems by IP address, hostname, or other logical identifier on a network that may be used for Lateral Movement from the current system.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2021-21972Same product: Vmware Cloud Foundationboth on KEV
CVE-2023-20890Same vendor: Vmware
CVE-2026-41843Same vendor: Vmware
CVE-2022-31706Same vendor: Vmware
CVE-2020-5410Same vendor: Vmwareboth on KEV
CVE-2026-22739Same vendor: Vmware
CVE-2026-40987Same vendor: Vmware
CVE-2023-31131Same vendor: Vmware
CVE-2018-14007Same product class: hypervisor / virtualization
CVE-2026-40982Same vendor: Vmware

Affected Assets

vmware
cloud foundation
3.0 — 5.0
vmware
vcenter server
6.5, 6.7, 7.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-22

Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.AA-05 none match
blocks

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References