CVE-2021-21997

Guest OS crash via VM3DMP driver panic

Published Jun 18, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Denial of service in the VM3DMP driver in VMware Tools for Windows before 11.3.0 allows local users to crash the Windows guest OS. VMware has not disclosed the triggering input or incorrect driver operation that causes the VM3DMP panic. Exploitation requires local user privileges inside a Windows guest with VMware Tools installed and interrupts that guest, not the host.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.65%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in the VM3DMP driver in VMware Tools for Windows before 11.3.0 allows local users to crash the Windows guest OS. VMware has not disclosed the triggering input or incorrect driver operation that causes the VM3DMP panic. Exploitation requires local user privileges inside a Windows guest with VMware Tools installed and interrupts that guest, not the host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-21997
Published
Jun 18, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
VMware
Product
VMware Tools
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 18, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=VMware Tools for Windows (11.x.y prior to 11.3.0)

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

VMware · VMware Toolsversion=VMware Tools for Windows (11.x.y prior to 11.3.0)

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.9NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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