Vcenter ServerApplication · VMware
CVE-2021-22017
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 · uneditedRhttproxy as used in vCenter Server contains a vulnerability due to improper implementation of URI normalization. A malicious actor with network access to port 443 on vCenter Server may exploit this issue to bypass proxy leading to internal endpoints being accessed.
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 · moderate confidenceRhttproxy in vCenter Server contains a URI normalization vulnerability that allows a remote attacker with network access to port 443 to bypass the proxy and access internal endpoints directly. The improper normalization of URIs permits traversal or manipulation of the request path to reach protected internal services.
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
Vcenter ServerApplication
= 6.7CVSS 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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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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Identify vCenter Server versionLog into the vSphere Client, navigate to Administration > About, or run 'vpxd -v' via SSH to the vCenter Server Appliance to retrieve the exact version numberAffected if Version is 6.7 (any build)
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Confirm Rhttproxy component is presentVerify Rhttproxy is installed on the vCenter Server Appliance by checking the service: run 'systemctl status rhttpproxy' or inspect the process with 'ps aux | grep rhttpproxy'Affected if Rhttproxy service is running on the vCenter Server
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Check proxy network accessibilityRun 'netstat -tlnp | grep rhttp' or 'ss -tlnp | grep rhttp' on the vCenter Server Appliance to determine if the proxy is listening on accessible network interfacesAffected if Proxy is bound to network interfaces reachable from untrusted networks
If vCenter Server version is exactly 6.7 and Rhttproxy is running and network-accessible, the environment is affected by the URI normalization 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.
dbcve · scopedApply the VMware security patches for CVE-2021-22017 to vCenter Server. Restrict network access to port 443 to trusted sources as an interim control until patching is complete.
vCenter Server 6.7 Update 3 or later
- 1. Back up the vCenter Server environment before applying any updates.
- 2. Download the vCenter Server 6.7 Update 3 or later from the VMware Customer Connect portal.
- 3. Apply the update using the vCenter Server management interface (VAMI) or through the ISO mount method.
- 4. Verify the update was applied successfully by checking the vCenter Server version in the About page.
- 5. Confirm the security patch for CVE-2021-22017 is included by reviewing the release notes for the applied version.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Vcenter Server
Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,728.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-22017 — 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-2021-22017 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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