CVE-2021-22042

Host privilege escalation via exposed settingsd tickets

Published Feb 16, 2022 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Incorrect authorization in VMware ESXi 7.0 Update 1 through Update 3 allows local users to access settingsd with elevated privileges. The VMX process can obtain settingsd authorization tickets that cross the intended privilege boundary and submit them to the high-privilege service. Exploitation requires existing control of the VMX process; the resulting access permits settingsd operations with host-level authority.

CVSS severity8.2
High
EPSS probability0.30%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Incorrect authorization in VMware ESXi 7.0 Update 1 through Update 3 allows local users to access settingsd with elevated privileges. The VMX process can obtain settingsd authorization tickets that cross the intended privilege boundary and submit them to the high-privilege service. Exploitation requires existing control of the VMX process; the resulting access permits settingsd operations with host-level authority.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-22042
Published
Feb 16, 2022
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-863, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 16, 2022CVE 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

8.2VMwareCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

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
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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