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Aria Operations For LogsApplication · VMware

CVE-2023-20864

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.12.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges 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 Aria Operations for Logs contains a deserialization vulnerability. An unauthenticated, malicious actor with network access to VMware Aria Operations for Logs may be able to execute arbitrary code as 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 · high confidence

VMware Aria Operations for Logs contains a deserialization vulnerability that allows an unauthenticated attacker with network access to execute arbitrary code with root privileges. The vulnerability stems from unsafe deserialization of untrusted data, likely in the Java-based application framework, enabling remote code execution without authentication.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided security patch immediately, restrict network exposure to only necessary management interfaces, and monitor for indicators of compromise. If patching is delayed, consider network segmentation or temporary isolation of the affected system.

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
Aria Operations For LogsApplication
Affected:>= 8.10.2, < 8.12.0
Cloud FoundationApplication
Affected:>= 4.0, <= 4.5

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Check VMware Aria Operations For Logs version
    Access the product administration UI or use the command line to retrieve the installed version. In the UI, navigate to the About section. Via CLI, check the version file or use 'vmware-vrl-client --version' if available.
    Affected if The installed version is 8.10.2 or higher but lower than 8.12.0
  2. Check VMware Cloud Foundation version
    Access the Cloud Foundation administrator portal or use the SDDC Manager command line to retrieve the version. Run 'sudo /opt/vmware/sddc-support/sos --version' or check the SDDC Manager UI for the version information.
    Affected if The installed version is 4.0 through 4.5 inclusive
  3. Verify network exposure of management interfaces
    Review firewall rules and network configurations to determine if the VMware Aria Operations For Logs management interface (typically ports 443, 22) is accessible from untrusted network segments. Use 'netstat' or 'ss' to list listening ports and compare against allowed source IP ranges.
    Affected if The management interface is exposed to untrusted or public networks without authentication barriers
  4. Confirm the vulnerable deserialization component is enabled
    The vulnerability affects the Java-based application framework processing untrusted data. Verify the primary application service is running by checking the status via 'service vmware-log-init status' or similar service management commands.
    Affected if The VMware Aria Operations For Logs service is running and accepting connections

You are affected if either VMware Aria Operations For Logs version is 8.10.2 to less than 8.12.0 OR VMware Cloud Foundation version is 4.0 to 4.5, and the management interface is network-accessible.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.12.0 or later
Fixed in 8.12.0
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided security patch immediately, restrict network exposure to only necessary management interfaces, and monitor for indicators of compromise. If patching is delayed, consider network segmentation or temporary isolation of the affected system.

Recommended fix High confidence

Aria Operations for Logs 8.12.0 or later; Cloud Foundation 4.6 or later

  1. 1. Back up the current VMware Aria Operations for Logs configuration and data
  2. 2. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade
  3. 3. Download VMware Aria Operations for Logs version 8.12.0 or later from the VMware Customer Connect portal
  4. 4. Upload the upgrade bundle to the Aria Operations for Logs appliance
  5. 5. Run the upgrade procedure following VMware documentation
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version number in the admin UI
  7. 7. Validate that the VMware Aria Operations for Logs service is running and accepting connections

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Aria Operations For Logs Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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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-2023-20864 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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