CVE-2021-21999

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 1.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2021-06-23 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-427

Description

VMware Tools for Windows (11.x.y prior to 11.2.6), VMware Remote Console for Windows (12.x prior to 12.0.1) , VMware App Volumes (2.x prior to 2.18.10 and 4 prior to 2103) contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability. An attacker with normal access to a virtual machine may exploit this issue by placing a malicious file renamed as `openssl.cnf' in an unrestricted directory which would allow code to be executed with elevated privileges.

Affected products

VMware App Volumes: from 2.0 before 2.18.10; from 4 before 2103 — fixed in 2.18.10, 2103
VMware Remote Console: from 12.0.0 before 12.0.1 — fixed in 12.0.1
VMware Tools: from 11.0.0 before 11.2.6 — fixed in 11.2.6
VMware Tools for Windows, VMware Remote Console for Windows and VMware App Volumes: from VMware Tools for Windows (11.x.y prior through 11.2.6), VMware Remote Console for Windows (12.x prior to 12.0.1) , VMware App Volumes (2.x prior to 2.18.10 and 4 prior to 2103)

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: VMware App Volumes 2.18.10, 2103; VMware Remote Console 12.0.1; VMware Tools 11.2.6. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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