CVE-2021-22015

HIGH

VMware Cloud Foundation 3.0-5.0 and vCenter Server - Local Privilege Escalation via Improper File Permissions

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 2 public exploits for CVE-2021-22015. PoCs published by PenteraIO, h00die, Yuval Lazar, including Metasploit module exploits/linux/local/vcenter_java_wrapper_vmon_priv_esc.

AI-analyzed exploit summary The repository contains a bash script that scans for the presence of CVE-2021-22015 by checking if the 'cis' group has write access to a specific file and if any user in that group has shell access. It does not exploit the vulnerability but detects its presence.

Description

The vCenter Server contains multiple local privilege escalation vulnerabilities due to improper permissions of files and directories. An authenticated local user with non-administrative privilege may exploit these issues to elevate their privileges to root on vCenter Server Appliance.

Exploits (2)

nomisec SCANNER 6 stars
by PenteraIO · poc
https://github.com/PenteraIO/vScalation-CVE-2021-22015

The repository contains a bash script that scans for the presence of CVE-2021-22015 by checking if the 'cis' group has write access to a specific file and if any user in that group has shell access. It does not exploit the vulnerability but detects its presence.

Classification
Scanner 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: VMWare vCenter Server
Auth required
Prerequisites: Credentials for a Linux (PhotonOS) vCenter host · Shell access
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC MANUAL
by h00die, Yuval Lazar · rubypoc
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/local/vcenter_java_wrapper_vmon_priv_esc.rb

This Metasploit module exploits a privilege escalation vulnerability in VMware vCenter by modifying the /usr/lib/vmware-vmon/java-wrapper-vmon file, which is writable by the 'cis' group and executes as root upon service restart or host reboot. It backs up the original file, injects a payload, and attempts to restart the vmware-vmon service to trigger execution.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: VMware vCenter 6.5, 6.7, 7.0 (before specific updates)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Access to a user in the 'cis' group · Write access to /usr/lib/vmware-vmon/java-wrapper-vmon · Ability to restart the vmware-vmon service or reboot the host
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (2)

Core 2

Scores

CVSS v3 7.8
EPSS 0.0181
EPSS Percentile 75.7%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-552
Status published
Products (4)
vmware/cloud_foundation 3.0 - 5.0
vmware/vcenter_server 6.5
vmware/vcenter_server 6.7
vmware/vcenter_server 7.0
Published Sep 23, 2021
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026