Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2023-20887 is a critical-severity Command Injection (CWE-77) vulnerability in Vmware Aria Operations For Networks. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 0.1% 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.
VMware Aria Operations for Networks is affected by a command injection vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-20887. The flaw, assigned CWE-77, permits unauthenticated attackers to inject and execute operating system commands, leading to full remote code execution on the target appliance. It carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, and no required privileges or user interaction.
An attacker with network reachability to an exposed Aria Operations for Networks instance can supply crafted input that bypasses input sanitization and executes arbitrary commands under the privileges of the service account. Successful exploitation grants complete control of the affected system, including the ability to read, modify, or delete data and to pivot within the management network.
VMware’s advisory VMSA-2023-0012 details the affected versions and remediation steps, while CISA has added the CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, confirming in-the-wild exploitation. The EPSS score reached a peak of 0.9721 and remains at 0.9426, indicating sustained and widespread exploitation interest following disclosure. Public exploit code has also appeared on Packet Storm.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-25058
Vulnerability Data
Aria Operations for Networks contains a command injection vulnerability. A malicious actor with network access to VMware Aria Operations for Networks may be able to perform a command injection attack resulting in remote code execution.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 22 June 2023
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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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.
Secure SDLC practices directly require input validation and neutralization that prevent command injection.
Runtime monitoring of software and data can detect anomalous command execution resulting from injection.
Identifying recorded vulnerabilities enables remediation of command-injection flaws before exploitation.
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.
Secure coding standards require proper escaping and parameterization of commands, directly eliminating CWE-77.
Security testing in development catches command-injection vulnerabilities before release.
Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and command construction practices that directly prevent command injection.
Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection flaws including command injection.
Secure architecture principles reduce the attack surface but do not prescribe the specific neutralization techniques needed.
Environment separation limits the blast radius of an exploited command injection but does not prevent the flaw itself.