Known exploited · VMware
CVE-2024-37085: VMware ESXi Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
What it is
VMware ESXi contains an authentication bypass vulnerability. A malicious actor with sufficient Active Directory (AD) permissions can gain full access to an ESXi host that was previously configured to use AD for user management by re-creating the configured AD group ('ESXi Admins' by default) after it was deleted from AD.
- Vendor
- VMware
- Product
- ESXi
- Added to KEV
- July 30, 2024
- CISA due date
- August 20, 2024
- Ransomware use
- Known
What CISA requires
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Forensic triage
No
What to do now
- Find every instance of ESXi you run, including the forgotten ones, and check its version against the vendor advisory.
- Apply the vendor's fix or mitigation, before August 20, 2024 if you are bound by CISA's deadline, sooner if it faces the internet.
- Assume it was tried against you already: look for signs of exploitation from the date it was added, not from the day you patched.
References
H2 Security
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Start freeSource: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (public domain), catalog version 2026.10.01.