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Broadcom has issued security patches to address a high-severity security flaw in VMware Tools for Windows that could lead to an authentication bypass. Tracked as CVE-2025-22230, the vulnerability is rated 7.8 on the ten-point Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). "VMware Tools for Windows contains an authentication bypass vulnerability due to improper access control," Broadcom said in an alert issued Tuesday. "A malicious actor with non-administrative privileges on a Windows guest VM may gain the ability to perform certain high-privilege operations within that VM." Credited with discovering and reporting the flaw is Sergey Bliznyuk of Russian cybersecurity company Positive Technologies. CVE-2025-22230 impacts VMware Tools for Windows versions 11.x.x and 12.x.x. It has been fixed in version 12.5.1. There are no workarounds that address the issue. CrushFTP Discloses New Flaw The development comes as CrushFTP has warned customers of an "unauthentica...

Broadcom has released security updates to address three actively exploited security flaws in VMware ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion products that could lead to code execution and information disclosure. The list of vulnerabilities is as follows - CVE-2025-22224 (CVSS score: 9.3) - A Time-of-Check Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) vulnerability that leads to an out-of-bounds write, which a malicious actor with local administrative privileges on a virtual machine could exploit to execute code as the virtual machine's VMX process running on the host CVE-2025-22225 (CVSS score: 8.2) - An arbitrary write vulnerability that a malicious actor with privileges within the VMX process could exploit to result in a sandbox escape CVE-2025-22226 (CVSS score: 7.1) - An information disclosure vulnerability due to an out-of-bounds read in HGFS that a malicious actor with administrative privileges to a virtual machine could exploit to leak memory from the vmx process The shortcomings impact the below ...

The problem is simple: all breaches start with initial access, and initial access comes down to two primary attack vectors – credentials and devices. This is not news; every report you can find on the threat landscape depicts the same picture.  The solution is more complex. For this article, we'll focus on the device threat vector. The risk they pose is significant, which is why device management tools like Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) are essential components of an organization's security infrastructure. However, relying solely on these tools to manage device risk actually creates a false sense of security. Instead of the blunt tools of device management, organizations are looking for solutions that deliver device trust . Device trust provides a comprehensive, risk-based approach to device security enforcement, closing the large gaps left behind by traditional device management solutions. Here are 5 of those limitations and how to ov...

Broadcom has released security updates to patch five security flaws impacting VMware Aria Operations and Aria Operations for Logs, warning customers that attackers could exploit them to gain elevated access or obtain sensitive information. The list of identified flaws, which impact versions 8.x of the software, is below - CVE-2025-22218 (CVSS score: 8.5) - A malicious actor with View Only Admin permissions may be able to read the credentials of a VMware product integrated with VMware Aria Operations for Logs CVE-2025-22219 (CVSS score: 6.8) - A malicious actor with non-administrative privileges may be able to inject a malicious script that may lead to arbitrary operations as admin user via a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) attack CVE-2025-22220 (CVSS score: 4.3) - A malicious actor with non-administrative privileges and network access to Aria Operations for Logs API may be able to perform certain operations in the context of an admin user CVE-2025-22221 (CVSS score: 5.2) ...

Broadcom has alerted of a high-severity security flaw in VMware Avi Load Balancer that could be weaponized by malicious actors to gain entrenched database access. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-22217 (CVSS score: 8.6), has been described as an unauthenticated blind SQL injection. "A malicious user with network access may be able to use specially crafted SQL queries to gain database access," the company said in an advisory issued Tuesday. Security researchers Daniel Kukuczka and Mateusz Darda have been acknowledged for discovering and reporting the vulnerability. It affects the following version of the software - VMware Avi Load Balancer 30.1.1 (Fixed in 30.1.2-2p2) VMware Avi Load Balancer 30.1.2 (Fixed in 30.1.2-2p2) VMware Avi Load Balancer 30.2.1 (Fixed in 30.2.1-2p5) VMware Avi Load Balancer 30.2.2 (Fixed in 30.2.2-2p2) Broadcom further noted that versions 22.x and 21.x are not susceptible to CVE-2025-22217, and that users running version 30.1.1 must...

In 2024, ransomware attacks targeting VMware ESXi servers reached alarming levels, with the average ransom demand skyrocketing to $5 million. With approximately 8,000 ESXi hosts exposed directly to the internet (according to Shodan), the operational and business impact of these attacks is profound. Most of the Ransomware strands that are attacking ESXi servers nowadays, are variants of the infamous Babuk ransomware, adapted to avoid detection of security tools. Moreover, accessibility is becoming more widespread, as attackers monetize their entry points by selling Initial Access to other threat actors, including ransomware groups. As organizations are dealing with compounded threats on an ever-expanding front: new vulnerabilities, new entry points, monetized cyber-crime networks, and more, there is ever-growing urgency for enhanced security measures and vigilance. The architecture of ESXi Understanding how an attacker can gain control of the ESXi host begins with understanding the ...

Cybersecurity researchers have shed light on a Linux variant of a relatively new ransomware strain called Helldown, suggesting that the threat actors are broadening their attack focus. "Helldown deploys Windows ransomware derived from the LockBit 3.0 code," Sekoia said in a report shared with The Hacker News. "Given the recent development of ransomware targeting ESX, it appears that the group could be evolving its current operations to target virtualized infrastructures via VMware." Helldown was first publicly documented by Halcyon in mid-August 2024, describing it as an "aggressive ransomware group" that infiltrates target networks by exploiting security vulnerabilities. Some of the prominent sectors targeted by the cybercrime group include IT services, telecommunications, manufacturing, and healthcare. Like other ransomware crews, Helldown is known for leveraging data leak sites to pressure victims into paying ransoms by threatening to publish s...

Now-patched security flaws impacting Progress Kemp LoadMaster and VMware vCenter Server have come under active exploitation in the wild, it has emerged. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Monday added CVE-2024-1212 (CVSS score: 10.0), a maximum-severity security vulnerability in Progress Kemp LoadMaster to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities ( KEV ) catalog. It was addressed by Progress Software back in February 2024 . "Progress Kemp LoadMaster contains an OS command injection vulnerability that allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to access the system through the LoadMaster management interface, enabling arbitrary system command execution," the agency said. Rhino Security Labs, which discovered and reported the flaw, said successful exploitation enables command execution on LoadMaster should an attacker have access to the administrator web user interface, granting them full access to the load balancer. CISA's addition of ...

VMware has released software updates to address an already patched security flaw in vCenter Server that could pave the way for remote code execution. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-38812 (CVSS score: 9.8), concerns a case of heap-overflow vulnerability in the implementation of the DCE/RPC protocol. "A malicious actor with network access to vCenter Server may trigger this vulnerability by sending a specially crafted network packet potentially leading to remote code execution," Broadcom-owned virtualization services provider said . The flaw was originally reported by zbl and srs of team TZL at the Matrix Cup cybersecurity competition held in China earlier this year. "VMware by Broadcom has determined that the vCenter patches released on September 17, 2024, did not fully address CVE-2024-38812," the company noted. Patches for the flaw are available in the below vCenter Server versions - 8.0 U3d 8.0 U2e, and  7.0 U3t It's also available as an a...

Cybersecurity researchers have unpacked the inner workings of a new ransomware variant called Cicada3301 that shares similarities with the now-defunct BlackCat (aka ALPHV) operation. "It appears that Cicada3301 ransomware primarily targets small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), likely through opportunistic attacks that exploit vulnerabilities as the initial access vector," cybersecurity company Morphisec said in a technical report shared with The Hacker News. Written in Rust and capable of targeting both Windows and Linux/ESXi hosts, Cicada3301 first emerged in June 2024, inviting potential affiliates to join their ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) platform via an advertisement on the RAMP underground forum. A notable aspect of the ransomware is that the executable embeds the compromised user's credentials, which are then used to run PsExec , a legitimate tool that makes it possible to run programs remotely. Cicada3301's similarities with BlackCat also extend t...

The threat actors behind the BlackByte ransomware group have been observed likely exploiting a recently patched security flaw impacting VMware ESXi hypervisors, while also leveraging various vulnerable drivers to disarm security protections. "The BlackByte ransomware group continues to leverage tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that have formed the foundation of its tradecraft since its inception, continuously iterating its use of vulnerable drivers to bypass security protections and deploying a self-propagating, wormable ransomware encryptor," Cisco Talos said in a technical report shared with The Hacker News. The exploitation of CVE-2024-37085 , an authentication bypass vulnerability in VMware ESXi that has also been weaponized by other ransomware groups, is a sign that the e-crime group is pivoting from established approaches. BlackByte made its debut in the second half of 2021 and is purported to be one of the autonomous ransomware offshoots to have emerged...

A recently patched security flaw impacting VMware ESXi hypervisors has been actively exploited by "several" ransomware groups to gain elevated permissions and deploy file-encrypting malware. The attacks involve the exploitation of CVE-2024-37085 (CVSS score: 6.8), an Active Directory integration authentication bypass that allows an attacker to obtain administrative access to the host. "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 by re-creating the configured AD group ('ESXi Admins' by default) after it was deleted from AD," Broadcom-owned VMware noted in an advisory released in late June 2024. In other words, escalating privileges on ESXi to the administrator was as simple as creating a new AD group named "ESX Admins" and adding any user to it, or renaming any group in the domain to "ESX Admins" and adding a user...

Cisco has released patches to address a maximum-severity security flaw impacting Smart Software Manager On-Prem (Cisco SSM On-Prem) that could enable a remote, unauthenticated attacker to change the password of any users, including those belonging to administrative users. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-20419 , carries a CVSS score of 10.0. "This vulnerability is due to improper implementation of the password-change process," the company said in an advisory. "An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP requests to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow an attacker to access the web UI or API with the privileges of the compromised user." The shortcoming affects Cisco SSM On-Prem versions 8-202206 and earlier. It has been fixed in version 8-202212. It's worth noting that version 9 is not susceptible to the flaw. Cisco said there are no workarounds that resolve the issue, and that it's not aware of any malicio...

VMware has released updates to address critical flaws impacting Cloud Foundation, vCenter Server, and vSphere ESXi that could be exploited to achieve privilege escalation and remote code execution. The list of vulnerabilities is as follows - CVE-2024-37079 & CVE-2024-37080 (CVSS scores: 9.8) - Multiple heap-overflow vulnerabilities in the implementation of the DCE/RPC protocol that could allow a bad actor with network access to vCenter Server to achieve remote code execution by sending a specially crafted network packet CVE-2024-37081 (CVSS score: 7.8) - Multiple local privilege escalation vulnerabilities in VMware vCenter arising due to the misconfiguration of sudo that an authenticated local user with non-administrative privileges could exploit to obtain root permissions This is not the first time VMware has addressed shortcomings in the implementation of the DCE/RPC protocol. In October 2023, the Broadcom-owned virtualization services provider patched another criti...

The MITRE Corporation has revealed that the cyber attack targeting the not-for-profit company towards late December 2023 by exploiting zero-day flaws in Ivanti Connect Secure (ICS) involved the threat actor creating rogue virtual machines (VMs) within its VMware environment. "The adversary created their own rogue VMs within the VMware environment, leveraging compromised vCenter Server access," MITRE researchers Lex Crumpton and Charles Clancy  said . "They wrote and deployed a JSP web shell (BEEFLUSH) under the vCenter Server's Tomcat server to execute a Python-based tunneling tool, facilitating SSH connections between adversary-created VMs and the ESXi hypervisor infrastructure." The motive behind such a move is to sidestep detection by obscuring their malicious activities from centralized management interfaces like vCenter and maintain persistent access while reducing the risk of being discovered. Details of the attack  emerged  last month when MITRE rev...

Multiple security flaws have been  disclosed  in VMware Workstation and Fusion products that could be exploited by threat actors to access sensitive information, trigger a denial-of-service (DoS) condition, and execute code under certain circumstances. The four vulnerabilities impact Workstation versions 17.x and Fusion versions 13.x, with fixes available in version 17.5.2 and 13.5.2, respectively, the Broadcom-owned virtualization services provider said. A brief description of each of the flaws is below - CVE-2024-22267  (CVSS score: 9.3) - A use-after-free vulnerability in the Bluetooth device that could be exploited by a malicious actor with local administrative privileges on a virtual machine to execute code as the virtual machine's VMX process running on the host CVE-2024-22268  (CVSS score: 7.1) - A heap buffer-overflow vulnerability in the Shader functionality that could be exploited by a malicious actor with non-administrative access to a virtua...

The MITRE Corporation has offered more details into the recently disclosed cyber attack, stating that the first evidence of the intrusion now dates back to December 31, 2023. The attack, which  came to light last month , singled out MITRE's Networked Experimentation, Research, and Virtualization Environment (NERVE) through the exploitation of two Ivanti Connect Secure zero-day vulnerabilities tracked as CVE-2023–46805 and CVE-2024–21887, respectively. "The adversary maneuvered within the research network via VMware infrastructure using a compromised administrator account, then employed a combination of backdoors and web shells to maintain persistence and harvest credentials," MITRE  said . While the organization had previously disclosed that the attackers performed reconnaissance of its networks starting in January 2024, the latest technical deep dive puts the earliest signs of compromise in late December 2023, with the adversary dropping a Perl-based web shell ...

Several security vulnerabilities disclosed in Brocade SANnav storage area network (SAN) management application could be exploited to compromise susceptible appliances. The 18 flaws  impact  all versions up to and including 2.3.0, according to independent security researcher Pierre Barre, who discovered and reported them. The issues range from incorrect firewall rules, insecure root access, and Docker misconfigurations to lack of authentication and encryption, thus allowing an attacker to intercept credentials, overwrite arbitrary files, and completely breach the device. Some of the most severe flaws are listed below - CVE-2024-2859  (CVSS score: 8.8) - A vulnerability that could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to an affected device using the root account and execute arbitrary commands CVE-2024-29960  (CVSS score: 7.5) - The use of hard-coded SSH keys in the OVA image, which could be exploited by an attacker ...