VMware over the weekend warned of the existence of a public exploit targeting a recently addressed critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in NSX Data Center for vSphere (NSX-V).

An end-of-life (EOL) product installed as a plug-in to VMware vCenter Server, NSX-V is a network virtualization solution offering networking and security functionality, including VPN, logical switching and routing, and more. The product is bundled within VMware Cloud Foundation.

Last week, VMware announced the availability of patches for CVE-2021-39144 (CVSS score of 9.8), an RCE flaw via the open source library XStream, warning that it could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of ’root’ on the appliance.

The company also notes that, while it typically does not mention EOL products in advisories, the severity of this bug led to the release of a patch as an exception.

Over the weekend, VMware updated its advisory on CVE-2021-39144 to warn that an exploit targeting this vulnerability already exists.

“VMware has confirmed exploit code leveraging CVE-2021-39144 against VCF (NSX-V) has been published,” the company says.

In an accompanying FAQ, VMware warns that successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow a malicious actor who has network access to the NSX-V Manager to take over the appliance.

According to the company, all NSX-V configurations are impacted and no in-product workarounds are available.

VMware addressed the vulnerability with the release of NSX-V version 6.4.14. The company urges all customers to upgrade their installations to this product iteration.

“The security fix applies to the NSX Manager only, however an upgrade to 6.4.14 involves a full upgrade, as the release contains other component fixes,” VMware notes.

By Ionut Arghire on Mon, 31 Oct 2022 12:18:24 +0000
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