Cyber Resilience

CVE-2022-22960

LPE in Vmware Identity Manager 3.3.3 … 3.3.6

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCLPE
Published
13 April 2022
Modified
30 October 2025
KEV Added
15 April 2022
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.36 98th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2022-22960 is a high-severity Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource (CWE-732) vulnerability in Vmware Identity Manager. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Credentials In Files (T1552.001); ranked in the top 2% 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.

CVE-2022-22960 is a privilege escalation vulnerability present in VMware Workspace ONE Access, Identity Manager, and vRealize Automation. It arises from improper permissions in support scripts and is tracked under CWE-732, carrying a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 for local attack vectors that require low complexity and low privileges.

An attacker with existing local access on an affected host can leverage the misconfigured scripts to elevate privileges to root, resulting in full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the system.

Public references include the official VMware advisory VMSA-2022-0011 along with multiple exploit artifacts published on PacketStorm Security that demonstrate remote code execution and privilege escalation paths.

The associated EPSS score has remained elevated, with a current value of 0.7249 and a peak of 0.7266, reflecting ongoing exploitation interest after the April 2022 disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

VMware Workspace ONE Access, Identity Manager and vRealize Automation contain a privilege escalation vulnerability due to improper permissions in support scripts. A malicious actor with local access can escalate privileges to 'root'.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
15 April 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Access
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials.
T1552.004 Private Keys Credential Access
Adversaries may search for private key certificate files on compromised systems for insecurely stored credentials.
T1574.005 Executable Installer File Permissions Weakness Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the binaries used by an installer.
T1574.010 Services File Permissions Weakness Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the binaries used by services.
T1505.005 Terminal Services DLL Persistence
Adversaries may abuse components of Terminal Services to enable persistent access to systems.
T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may circumvent mechanisms designed to control privilege elevation to gain higher-level permissions.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2022-22954Same product: Linux Linux Kernelboth on KEV
CVE-2022-22972Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2024-37087Same product: Vmware Cloud Foundation
CVE-2018-13374Shared CWE-732both on KEV
CVE-2019-15752Shared CWE-732both on KEV
CVE-2020-4006Same product: Linux Linux Kernelboth on KEV
CVE-2022-22956Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2025-33088Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2026-0271Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-3282Same product: Linux Linux Kernel

Affected Assets

vmware
cloud foundation
3.0 — 5.0
vmware
identity manager
3.3.3, 3.3.4, 3.3.5, 3.3.6
vmware
vrealize automation
7.6
vmware
vrealize suite lifecycle manager
8.0 — 9.0
vmware
workspace one access
20.10.0.0, 20.10.0.1, 21.08.0.0, 21.08.0.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 7 hardening rules · 4 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

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.

addresses: CWE-732

Procedures support proper permission assignment for critical resources through documented controls.

addresses: CWE-732

Attribute management for resources provides a mechanism to assign and maintain correct permissions based on security labels.

addresses: CWE-732

Prevents overly permissive assignments to critical resources by limiting to task needs.

addresses: CWE-732

Training policy covers correct permission assignment, reducing the ability to exploit incorrect permission assignments for critical resources.

addresses: CWE-732

Training on permission management reduces incorrect permission assignments for critical resources.

addresses: CWE-732

Audit logs and logging tools are critical resources whose protection requires correct permission assignments to block unauthorized actions.

addresses: CWE-732

Assessments review permission assignments on critical resources to confirm correctness, mitigating exploitation via incorrect permissions.

addresses: CWE-732

Certification includes checking that permissions on critical resources are correctly assigned.

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.AA-05 full match
prevents

Directly requires defining, enforcing, and reviewing access permissions and least privilege on resources.

PR.PS-01 mostly match
prevents

Hardened baselines and configuration management explicitly include correct permission settings for critical resources.

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.

prevents

By requiring owners to determine and document the exact permissions needed for each asset, the control reduces the likelihood that default or overly permissive file and resource permissions will be left in place.

prevents

Documented provisioning and revocation procedures reduce the chance that critical resources retain overly permissive default or leftover permissions after personnel changes.

prevents

Documented authorization, expiry rules, and audit logging of privileged accounts make it harder for critical resources to retain overly permissive or stale permission assignments.

prevents

Requiring explicit configuration of access controls and permissions for files, applications and services counters the assignment of overly permissive default or incorrect file-system rights.

prevents

Enforcing differentiated permissions on the source-code repository and program listings stops the assignment of overly broad default or inherited permissions to critical resources.

prevents

By defining and enforcing secure permission settings in configuration templates, the control reduces the likelihood that critical resources receive incorrect permission assignments.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248577 OL 8 must enable kernel parameters to enforce Discretionary Access Control (DAC) on symlinks. prevents CWE-732
Windows Server 2016 (2 rules)
  • V-224972 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-732
  • V-224831 Local volumes must use a format that supports NTFS attributes. prevents CWE-732
Windows Server 2019 (2 rules)
  • V-205741 Windows Server 2019 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-732
  • V-205663 Windows Server 2019 local volumes must use a format that supports NTFS attributes. prevents CWE-732
Windows Server 2022 (2 rules)
  • V-254393 Windows Server 2022 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-732
  • V-254250 Windows Server 2022 local volumes must use a format that supports NTFS attributes. prevents CWE-732

References