KEV Intelligence

Vulnerability report

Exploited in the wild High confidence Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2021-21983

VMware vRealize Operations Arbitrary File Access

VMware / VMware vRealize Operations · VMware vRealize Operations prior to 8.4

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Severity
CVSS 6.5 · Medium
Confidence
High
Exploit status
Exploited in the wild
EPSS
68.6%
First observed
—
Last observed
—

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2021-21983 is a vulnerability affecting VMware VMware vRealize Operations. Arbitrary file write vulnerability in vRealize Operations Manager API (CVE-2021-21983) prior to 8.4 may allow an authenticated malicious...

Is it exploited?

Yes. KEV Intelligence tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is high.

Who is affected?

VMware / VMware vRealize Operations vmware vrealize operations prior to 8.4.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

VMware vRealize Operations Arbitrary File Access

Arbitrary file write vulnerability in vRealize Operations Manager API (CVE-2021-21983) prior to 8.4 may allow an authenticated malicious actor with network access to the vRealize Operations Manager API can write files to arbitrary locations on the underlying photon operating system.

Vendor Product Affected Status
n/a VMware vRealize Operations VMware vRealize Operations prior to 8.4 Affected
Published
31 Mar 2021
Exploitation Reported
12 Aug 2026
Attack vector
Remote
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None

CVE References

Exploitation evidence

Why KEV Intelligence marks this CVE as exploited

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploited in the wild

CVE

Recorded 12 Aug 2026

Independent exploitation attestation added to the KEV Intelligence record.

Proof of concept available

GitHub

Recorded 16 Mar 2022

Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEV Intelligence Pro API.

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Source Added
CVE First 2026-08-12 04:21 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets
0
User-Agents
0

Raw values available in Pro and Enterprise.

Virtual patch status

No KEV Intelligence virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

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Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner Reference Detected
Metasploit https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/http/vmware_vrops_mgr_ssrf_rce.rb 28 Apr 2025

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

EPSS

68.6%

All CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 6.5 Medium

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

CVSS v2.0 8.5 High

AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:C/A:C

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

murataydemir/CVE-2021-21983

github · Created 2022-03-16 11:56:25 UTC · 3 stars

[CVE-2021-21983] VMware vRealize Operations (vROps) Manager API Arbitrary File Write Leads to Remote Code Execution (RCE)

vmware_vrops_mgr_ssrf_rce

metasploit · Created Unknown

Metasploit module for CVE-2021-21983

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation

  1. Added to KEV Intelligence KEV Feed

    High-confidence, third-party attested exploitation

  2. Metasploit module available

    Exploit module available

  3. Public PoC available

    Public proof-of-concept code published

  4. CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  5. CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2021-21983

Free JSON includes basic KEV fields 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2021-21983",
  "confidence": "High",
  "cvss_score": 6.5,
  "epss_score": 0.68557,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}

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