{"id":"CVE-2024-37085","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2024-37085"],"related":[],"title":"VMware ESXi contains an authentication bypass vulnerability","description":"VMware ESXi contains an authentication bypass vulnerability. A malicious actor with sufficient Active Directory (AD) permissions can gain full access to an ESXi host that was previously configured to use AD for user management by re-creating the configured AD group ('ESXi Admins' by default) after it was deleted from AD.\n\nCISA required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.","summary":"VMware ESXi has an authentication bypass where a user with sufficient Active Directory permissions can re-create the deleted AD group used for ESXi admin access, gaining full control of the host. CISA lists it as actively exploited, including in ransomware campaigns.","severity":"critical","cvss":7.2,"epss":null,"exploited":true,"exploited_at":"2024-07-30T00:00:00+00:00","products":[{"name":"VMware ESXi","fixed":[],"affected":"","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"vmware cloud foundation","fixed":["5.2"],"affected":">= 4.0, < 5.2","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"vmware esxi","fixed":[],"affected":"= 7.0","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"vmware esxi","fixed":[],"affected":"= 8.0","ecosystem":"vendor"}],"ecosystems":["vendor"],"tags":["active-directory","esxi","exploited","ransomware","self-hosted","vendor","virtualization","vmware"],"not_affected_if":["local-users-only","no-ad-integration"],"how_to_check":null,"fix":"Apply the VMware-published mitigation or patch for ESXi per vendor instructions; if none is available, discontinue use of the product per CISA.","status":"open","published_at":"2024-06-25T15:15:12+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:51+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-23T20:58:29+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-23T22:29:05+00:00","category":"vendor","confidence":0.6,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-23T20:58:29Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"Apply the VMware-published mitigation or patch for ESXi per vendor instructions; if none is available, discontinue use of the product per CISA.\nunknown","reach":"network","impact":"high","summary":"VMware ESXi has an authentication bypass where a user with sufficient Active Directory permissions can re-create the deleted AD group used for ESXi admin access, gaining full control of the host. CISA lists it as actively exploited, including in ransomware campaigns.","category":"vendor","who_cares":["esxi","vmware","active-directory","self-hosted","virtualization"],"confidence":0.6,"needs_auth":"yes","worst_case":"Attacker gains full administrative control of the ESXi host via AD group recreation.","analyst_note":"Find the VMware advisory (VMSA for CVE-2024-37085) for affected ESXi versions, fixed builds and the exact AD group mitigation steps; sources here give no version data.","how_to_check":"unknown","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["no-ad-integration","local-users-only"],"user_interaction":"no","needs_special_setup":"yes","severity_if_unknown":"critical"},"cost_usd":0.000488,"input_tokens":2865,"output_tokens":403,"severity_before":"unknown"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-2024':9A,12A '-37085':10A,13A 'access':61B,97C 'action':132C 'activ':24B,46B,72B,90C 'active-directori':23B 'actor':87C 'ad':55B,92C,108C,118C,129C 'admin':60B,121C 'appli':133C 'authent':5A,39B,82C 'bypass':6A,40B,83C 'campaign':77B 'cisa':68B,130C 'cloud':17A 'configur':105C,117C 'contain':3A,80C 'control':64B 'creat':52B,115C 'cve':8A,11A 'default':123C 'delet':54B,127C 'directori':25B,47B,91C 'discontinu':139C 'esxi':2A,15A,20A,22A,26B,36B,59B,79C,100C,120C 'exploit':27B,73B 'foundation':18A 'full':63B,96C 'gain':62B,95C 'group':56B,119C 'host':31B,67B,101C 'includ':74B 'instruct':137C 'list':69B 'malici':86C 'manag':111C 'mitig':134C,145C 'per':135C 'permiss':48B,93C 'previous':104C 'product':143C 'ransomwar':28B,76B 're':51B,114C 're-creat':50B,113C 'requir':131C 'self':30B 'self-host':29B 'suffici':45B,89C 'unavail':147C 'use':57B,107C,140C 'user':43B,110C 'vendor':32B,136C 'virtual':33B 'vmware':1A,14A,16A,19A,21A,34B,35B,78C 'vulner':7A,84C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":null,"tier":null,"verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2024-06-25T15:15:12+00:00","kev":{"dateAdded":"2024-07-30","dueDate":"2024-08-20","requiredAction":"Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.","knownRansomwareCampaignUse":"Known"},"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cvss_by":"security@vmware.com","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"kev","external_id":"CVE-2024-37085","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?search_api_fulltext=CVE-2024-37085","severity":null,"published_at":"2024-07-30T00:00:00+00:00","modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:51+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-25T14:39:38+00:00","note":null},{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2024-37085","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-37085","severity":null,"published_at":"2024-06-25T15:15:12+00:00","modified_at":"2026-06-17T07:37:43+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T22:29:05+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T22:29:05+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}