CVE-2021-21997

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.7% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2021-06-18 · updated 2026-06-17

Description

VMware Tools for Windows (11.x.y prior to 11.3.0) contains a denial-of-service vulnerability in the VM3DMP driver. A malicious actor with local user privileges in the Windows guest operating system, where VMware Tools is installed, can trigger a PANIC in the VM3DMP driver leading to a denial-of-service condition in the Windows guest operating system.

Affected products

VMware Tools: from 11.0.0 before 11.3.0 — fixed in 11.3.0
VMware Tools for Windows: from VMware Tools for Windows (11.x.y prior through 11.3.0)

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: VMware Tools 11.3.0. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2021-0011.html
https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2021-0011.html

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