Vrealize OperationsApplication · VMware
CVE-2020-3944
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedvRealize Operations for Horizon Adapter (6.7.x prior to 6.7.1 and 6.6.x prior to 6.6.1) has an improper trust store configuration leading to authentication bypass. An unauthenticated remote attacker who has network access to vRealize Operations, with the Horizon Adapter running, may be able to bypass Adapter authentication.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidencevRealize Operations for Horizon Adapter versions 6.6.x prior to 6.6.1 and 6.7.x prior to 6.7.1 contains an improper trust store configuration vulnerability. This allows an unauthenticated remote attacker with network access to vRealize Operations to bypass adapter authentication, potentially gaining unauthorized access to the adapter and connected systems.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Vrealize OperationsApplication
>= 6.6.0, < 6.6.1>= 6.7.0, < 6.7.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm vRealize Operations for Horizon Adapter is installedCheck for the presence of the Horizon Adapter in the vRealize Operations admin UI under Administration > Solutions, or query the adapter via the vRealize Operations API endpoint /api/adaptersAffected if The Horizon Adapter is present and shows as configured
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Determine the installed Horizon Adapter versionIn vRealize Operations, navigate to Administration > Solutions > Horizon Adapter and view the adapter version information, or query the adapter details via APIAffected if The adapter version is 6.6.0.x (any patch) or 6.7.0.x (any patch), or falls within 6.6.0 <= version < 6.6.1 or 6.7.0 <= version < 6.7.1
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Verify the adapter is network accessibleConfirm that the vRealize Operations management node is exposed on the network and the Horizon Adapter endpoint is reachable (typically port 443 on the vRealize Operations host)Affected if vRealize Operations is accessible from untrusted networks without proper firewall restrictions
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Inspect trust store configurationReview the adapter configuration XML or JSON files located in the vRealize Operations installation directory under /usr/lib/vmware-vcops/user/conf/adapter, looking for trustStorePath or related trust configuration settings that may be misconfigured or pointing to an untrusted certificate storeAffected if The trust store configuration allows certificates that should not be trusted, or uses a default/weak trust store
If vRealize Operations with Horizon Adapter versions 6.6.0 through 6.6.0.x or 6.7.0 through 6.7.0.x is installed and network-accessible, the environment is affected by this authentication bypass vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data6.6.16.7.1
Upgrade the Horizon Adapter to version 6.7.1 (for 6.7.x) or 6.6.1 (for 6.6.x) or later to remediate the improper trust store configuration that enables authentication bypass.
Fix this in Vrealize Operations
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3944 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-3944 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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