dbcve.org
Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 20 Aug 2024. Known ransomware use
Cloud FoundationApplication · VMware

CVE-2024-37085

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-06-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.2 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware Remotely reachable Zero-click Patch available

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 ESXi contains an authentication bypass vulnerability. A malicious actor with sufficient Active Directory (AD) permissions can gain full access to an ESXi host that was previously configured to use AD for user management https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2012/09/joining-vsphere-hosts-to-active-directory.html by re-creating the configured AD group ('ESXi Admins' by default) after it was deleted from AD.

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 ESXi contains an authentication bypass vulnerability when configured to use Active Directory for user management. An attacker with sufficient AD permissions can re-create the 'ESXi Admins' default group (or configured AD group) after it has been deleted from AD, causing ESXi to re-trust the group and grant the attacker full administrative access to the ESXi host.

MitigationApply the VMware security patch for CVE-2024-37085. As a temporary mitigation, audit AD group membership changes, restrict AD permissions to prevent unauthorized group re-creation, or consider removing AD integration until patching is complete.

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
Cloud FoundationApplication
Affected:>= 4.0, < 5.2
EsxiOperating system
Affected:= 7.0= 8.0

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 ESXi or Cloud Foundation version
    Run `vmware -l` on the ESXi host console or check the version displayed in the vSphere Client under Host > Summary. For Cloud Foundation, check the SDDC Manager console or run `vcf-version` command.
    Affected if Version is VMware ESXi 7.0, VMware ESXi 8.0, VMware Cloud Foundation 4.0 through 5.1.x (any build within 4.0 <= version < 5.2)
  2. Confirm AD authentication is configured
    Run `esxcli system account list` to see configured identity sources. Also run `esxcli system authentication searchdomain list` to verify AD domains are configured. Check vSphere Host Client under Authentication > Active Directory Domain Membership.
    Affected if The host is joined to an Active Directory domain and AD is listed as an identity source for authentication (particularly if 'ESXi Admins' group is mapped to Admin privileges)
  3. Determine the configured ESXi Admin group
    Run `esxcli system permission list` or check vSphere Client under Host > Actions > Administration > Permissions to see which group is granted the Administrator role. Default is 'ESXi Admins' but verify the actual group name configured.
    Affected if Any group (default 'ESXi Admins' or custom) is mapped to Administrator role on the ESXi host with AD as the identity source
  4. Verify the AD group existence
    Use Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) or run `Get-ADGroup -Identity 'ESXi Admins'` via PowerShell on the AD domain controller to check if the configured ESXi Admin group exists in AD.
    Affected if The configured ESXi Admin group does not exist in Active Directory, or was previously deleted and re-created, indicating the vulnerability condition is present

You are affected if your ESXi version is 7.0 or 8.0 (or Cloud Foundation 4.0-5.1.x), AD authentication is enabled with the 'ESXi Admins' group (or a custom equivalent) mapped to Administrator role, and that group exists in AD (particularly if it may have been re-created after deletion).

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 5.2 or later
Fixed in 5.2
Vendor patch support.broadcom.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply the VMware security patch for CVE-2024-37085. As a temporary mitigation, audit AD group membership changes, restrict AD permissions to prevent unauthorized group re-creation, or consider removing AD integration until patching is complete.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

VMware ESXi 7.0/8.0 latest available security patch (check Broadcom support for specific version)

  1. Check Broadcom Support (support.broadcom.com) for the latest VMware ESXi security patches corresponding to this CVE
  2. Identify the specific ESXi version currently running (esxcli system version get)
  3. Download and upload the patched ESXi ISO from the Broadcom portal
  4. Remediate affected hosts: either migrate VMs and place hosts in maintenance mode, or for standalone hosts, rebuild with the patched ISO
  5. After upgrade, verify the AD integration still functions correctly (esxcli_AD domain join/status)
  6. Verify the fix by confirming the vulnerability is addressed in the release notes for the patched version
Caveat ESXi firmware upgrade requires host downtime; plan maintenance window; ensure backups and VM migration plans are in place

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

Fix this in Cloud Foundation Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-37085 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2024-37085 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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