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Aria OperationsApplication · VMware

CVE-2023-20880

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.12.0 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability. A malicious actor with administrative access to the local system 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 Aria Operations contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability where a malicious actor with administrative access to the local system can escalate privileges to root. This is a local LPE (Local Privilege Escalation) requiring prior administrative access, not a remote vulnerability.

MitigationApply the vendor-released patch for CVE-2023-20880. Until patched, limit administrative access to trusted personnel and monitor for suspicious local privilege escalation attempts.

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 OperationsApplication
Affected:>= 8.6.0, < 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 if VMware Aria Operations is installed
    Locate the VMware Aria Operations installation directory or running services. Common paths include /opt/vmware/aria/operations or C:\Program Files\VMware\Aria\Operations. Check for the 'vmware-aria-operations' service or process.
    Affected if The product is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed version of VMware Aria Operations
    Run the command 'vifp version' or 'vops --version' if available. Alternatively, check the version file in the installation directory, typically found in <install_dir>/bin/vops-cli or view the web interface version from the login page.
    Affected if Unable to determine the version from standard locations
  3. Compare the version against affected ranges
    If the version is determined, compare it to the affected ranges: 8.6.0 <= version < 8.12.0 indicates vulnerability for VMware Aria Operations. Versions outside this range (below 8.6.0 or 8.12.0 and above) are not affected by this CVE.
    Affected if Installed version falls within 8.6.0 to 8.11.x inclusive
  4. Identify if VMware Cloud Foundation is installed
    Check for VMware Cloud Foundation components using 'vcf' command line tools if available, or locate installation directories such as /opt/vmware/vcf or C:\Program Files\VMware\Cloud Foundation.
    Affected if VMware Cloud Foundation is present on the system
  5. Determine VMware Cloud Foundation version
    Run 'vcf -v' or 'vcf --version' to retrieve the version. Alternatively, check the Cloud Foundation manager interface or configuration files in the installation directory.
    Affected if Unable to determine the Cloud Foundation version
  6. Compare Cloud Foundation version against affected range
    Compare the determined version to 4.0 <= version <= 4.5. Versions 4.0 through 4.5 inclusive are affected. Versions below 4.0 or above 4.5 are not affected by this CVE.
    Affected if Installed Cloud Foundation version is 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, or 4.5

The system is affected if VMware Aria Operations version is 8.6.0 or higher but lower than 8.12.0, OR VMware Cloud Foundation version is between 4.0 and 4.5 inclusive.

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-released patch for CVE-2023-20880. Until patched, limit administrative access to trusted personnel and monitor for suspicious local privilege escalation attempts.

Recommended fix High confidence

VMware Aria Operations 8.12.0 or later; VMware Cloud Foundation beyond version 4.5

  1. Verify current version of VMware Aria Operations or Cloud Foundation by accessing the administration interface
  2. Confirm the current version falls within the affected range: Aria Operations 8.6.0 through 8.11.x, or Cloud Foundation 4.0 through 4.5
  3. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade procedure
  4. Back up all critical data and configurations before proceeding
  5. For Aria Operations: Upgrade to version 8.12.0 or later by following the official VMware upgrade documentation
  6. For Cloud Foundation: Apply the corresponding patch or upgrade to a version beyond 4.5 that includes the security fix
  7. Verify the upgrade was successful and the vulnerability is remediated
  8. Confirm root privilege escalation is no longer possible from administrative accounts
Caveat Review VMware release notes for 8.12.0 for any configuration or feature changes that may require adjustment

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

Fix this in Aria Operations Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,160.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-20880 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