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CVE-2021-21985

The vSphere Client (HTML5) contains a remote code execution vulnerability due to lack of input validation in the Virtual SAN Health Check plug-in...

Basic Information

CVE State
PUBLISHED
Reserved Date
January 04, 2021
Published Date
May 26, 2021
Last Updated
July 30, 2025
Vendor
n/a
Product
VMware vCenter Server and VMware Cloud Foundation
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.
Tags
cisa malware ransomware nuclei_scanner metasploit_scanner

CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1

9.8 - CRITICAL

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

CVSS v2.0

10.0

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

SSVC Information

Exploitation
active
Automatable
Yes
Technical Impact
total

Exploit Status

Exploited in the Wild
Yes (2021-11-03 00:00:00 UTC) Source
Proof of Concept Available
Yes (added 2021-06-01 08:31:05 UTC) Source
Used in Malware
Yes (added 2021-11-03 00:00:00 UTC) Source

References

https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2021-0010.html http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162812/VMware-Security-Advisory-2021-0010.html http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/163487/VMware-vCenter-Server-Virtual-SAN-Health-Check-Remote-Code-Execution.html

Known Exploited Vulnerability Information

Source Added Date
CISA 2021-11-03 00:00:00 UTC

Scanner Integrations

Scanner URL Date Detected
Metasploit https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/http/vmware_vcenter_vsan_health_rce.rb 2025-04-29 11:01:15 UTC
Nuclei https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2021/CVE-2021-21985.yaml 2025-04-26 00:00:00 UTC

Potential Proof of Concepts

Warning: These PoCs have not been tested and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

vmware_vcenter_vsan_health_rce

Type: metasploit • Created: Unknown

Metasploit module for CVE-2021-21985

sknux/CVE-2021-21985_PoC

Type: github • Created: 2021-11-09 19:06:29 UTC • Stars: 3

VMWARE VCENTER SERVER VIRTUAL SAN HEALTH CHECK PLUG-IN RCE (CVE-2021-21985)

testanull/Project_CVE-2021-21985_PoC

Type: github • Created: 2021-06-05 11:03:13 UTC • Stars: 31

daedalus/CVE-2021-21985

Type: github • Created: 2021-06-04 01:15:14 UTC • Stars: 2

CVE-2021-21985 vmware 6.7-9.8 RCE

onSec-fr/CVE-2021-21985-Checker

Type: github • Created: 2021-06-01 08:31:05 UTC • Stars: 2

CVE-2021-21985 Checker.

alt3kx/CVE-2021-21985_PoC

Type: github • Created: 2021-05-29 13:07:14 UTC • Stars: 214

Timeline

  • CVE ID Reserved

  • CVE Published to Public

  • Proof of Concept Exploit Available

  • Exploit Used in Malware

  • Added to KEVIntel

  • Detected by Nuclei

  • Detected by Metasploit