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Identity ManagerApplication · VMware

CVE-2022-22973

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 · unedited
VMware Workspace ONE Access and Identity Manager contain a privilege escalation vulnerability. A malicious actor with local access can escalate privileges to 'root'.

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 confidence

VMware Workspace ONE Access and Identity Manager contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability that allows an authenticated local attacker to gain root-level privileges on the affected system.

MitigationApply the VMware security patch for CVE-2022-22973 to update Workspace ONE Access and Identity Manager to a patched version.

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
Identity ManagerApplication
Affected:= 3.3.3= 3.3.4= 3.3.5= 3.3.6
Workspace One AccessApplication
Affected:= 20.10.0.0= 20.10.0.1= 21.08.0.0= 21.08.0.1
Cloud FoundationApplication
Affected:= 4.0= 4.0.1= 4.1= 4.1.0.1= 4.2= 4.2.1= 4.3= 4.3.1
Vrealize Suite Lifecycle ManagerApplication
Affected:= 8.0= 8.0.1= 8.1= 8.2= 8.3= 8.4= 8.4.1= 8.6= 8.6.1= 8.6.2= 8.7= 8.8

CVSS 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed VMware product
    Check which VMware identity management product is running on the system. Common locations: /opt/vmware or /usr/local directory contents, or check running services with 'ps aux | grep -i vmware'
    Affected if The product matches Identity Manager, Workspace ONE Access, Cloud Foundation, or vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager
  2. Determine the product version
    For Identity Manager or Workspace ONE Access, check the version file typically located in the installation directory or run the product-specific version command if available. For Cloud Foundation and vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager, check the vLCM or admin interface version, or check installed package versions via the system package manager if accessible.
    Affected if The version matches exactly: 3.3.3, 3.3.4, 3.3.5, 3.3.6 (Identity Manager) or 20.10.0.0, 20.10.0.1, 21.08.0.0, 21.08.0.1 (Workspace ONE Access) or 4.0, 4.0.1, 4.1, 4.1.0.1, 4.2, 4.2.1, 4.3, 4.3.1 (Cloud Foundation) or 8.0 through 8.8 specific versions (vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager)
  3. Verify local authentication access exists
    Confirm that local user accounts or service accounts with shell or local access to the underlying operating system exist. Check /etc/passwd for local users or query the product's internal user database if accessible.
    Affected if Local or service accounts with operating system access are present on the system
  4. Check for evidence of privilege escalation indicators
    Review system logs, sudo configuration, and setuid binaries for unusual modifications or unauthorized root access attempts. Look for new sudoers entries or unexpected user additions to root groups.
    Affected if Unusual privilege changes or unauthorized root access is detected in logs or configuration

A user is affected if they are running any of the exact listed versions of Identity Manager, Workspace ONE Access, Cloud Foundation, or vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager AND have local authenticated access to the underlying system.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the VMware security patch for CVE-2022-22973 to update Workspace ONE Access and Identity Manager to a patched version.

Fix this in Identity Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-22973 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data