Authenticated privilege escalation via RBAC role assignment
Published Apr 19, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024
Privilege escalation in VMware NSX-T Data Center 3.1.1 allows remote authenticated users with an enabled guest account to gain higher privileges. VMware has disclosed only that RBAC role-assignment logic permits the guest account to assign privileges above its existing permission level, without naming the affected component or operation. An NSX Enterprise administrator must first activate the guest account, which is disabled by default; exploitation expands that account's authority.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in VMware NSX-T Data Center 3.1.1 allows remote authenticated users with an enabled guest account to gain higher privileges. VMware has disclosed only that RBAC role-assignment logic permits the guest account to assign privileges above its existing permission level, without naming the affected component or operation. An NSX Enterprise administrator must first activate the guest account, which is disabled by default; exploitation expands that account's authority.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-21981
- Published
- Apr 19, 2021
- Updated
- Aug 3, 2024
- Vendor
- VMware
- Product
- VMware NSX-T Data Center
- Classifications
- CWE-269, T1098
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 19, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=VMware NSX-T 3.1.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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