CVE-2021-21985 — Security Box Score

CVE · referencelatest edition

Reference page — cumulative record through Wednesday, August 19, 2026 UTC. Reference pages update as the archive grows; only dated daily editions are immutable pages of record.

CVE-2021-21985CRITICAL

n/a VMware vCenter Server and VMware Cloud Foundation — VMware vCenter Server

  AV  AC  PR  UI  S  C  I  A   CVSS     EPSS    %ile   KEV
   N   L   N   N  U  H  H  H    9.8   1.0000   100.0   YES

AFFECTED
  Product                                            Versions                                                                                                                                                  Fixed
  VMware vCenter Server and VMware Cloud Foundation  VMware vCenter Server (7.x before 7.0 U2b, 6.7 before 6.7 U3n, 6.5 before 6.5 U3p) and VMware Cloud Foundation (4.x before 4.2.1, 3.x before 3.10.2.1) –  —

TIMELINE
  Jan 4   Reserved by vmware
  Nov 3   Added to CISA KEV, remediation due 2021-11-17
  Nov 3   Published (CNA: vmware)
  Aug 12  EXPLOIT PUBLISHED — CVE-2021-21985 (VMware vCenter Server and VMware Cloud Foundation). Public exploit reference added.

CWE-918, CWE-20, CWE-470 · CNA: vmware · CVSS v3.1 · 4 references · NVD status: Analyzed · KEV due November 17, 2021

Description

The vSphere Client (HTML5) contains a remote code execution vulnerability due to lack of input validation in the Virtual SAN Health Check plug-in which is enabled by default in vCenter Server. A malicious actor with network access to port 443 may exploit this issue to execute commands with unrestricted privileges on the underlying operating system that hosts vCenter Server.

Lifecycle

Complete event history — 4 events, chronological
Date	Event	Detail
January 4, 2021	Reserved	Reserved by vmware
November 3, 2021	KEV ADDED	Added to CISA KEV, remediation due 2021-11-17
November 3, 2021	Published	Published (CNA: vmware)
August 12, 2026	EXPLOIT PUBLISHED	EXPLOIT PUBLISHED — CVE-2021-21985 (VMware vCenter Server and VMware Cloud Foundation). Public exploit reference added.

Affected

Affected products and packages — 1 row
Vendor	Product / Package	Ecosystem	Version introduced	Fixed
n/a	VMware vCenter Server and VMware Cloud Foundation	—	VMware vCenter Server (7.x before 7.0 U2b, 6.7 before 6.7 U3n, 6.5 before 6.5 U3p) and VMware Cloud Foundation (4.x before 4.2.1, 3.x before 3.10.2.1)	—

Weaknesses

CWE-918 · CWE-20 · CWE-470

References (4)

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162812/VMware-Security-Advisory-2021-0010.html [Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry]
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/163487/VMware-vCenter-Server-Virtual-SAN-Health-Check-Remote-Code-Execution.html [Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry]
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-21985 [US Government Resource]
https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2021-0010.html [Vendor Advisory]

Authoritative record: CVE-2021-21985 at cve.org

Weaknesses: CWE-918 · CWE-20 · CWE-470

About this page

This is a reference page, not a dated page of record. It assembles the complete lifecycle of CVE-2021-21985 from the CVE Program record, NVD enrichment, the CISA KEV catalog, EPSS, and OSV advisories. The box score's numbers (CVSS, EPSS, KEV status) are current as of Wednesday, August 19, 2026 UTC and are re-derived as the archive grows; only dated daily editions are immutable pages of record. The authoritative source for this identifier is cve.org.