CVE-2025-41228Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Cookie theft via reflected login-page input

Published May 20, 2025 · Updated Jun 24, 2025

Reflected XSS in VMware ESXi 7.0 and 8.0 and vCenter Server 8.0 allows remote attackers to steal cookies via crafted login-page URLs. The public vSphere Client proof of concept shows /folder copying an unencoded query string into a form action attribute, allowing injected script to execute in the browser. Execution requires a user to open the crafted URL in an active session; VMware has not identified the affected ESXi paths.

CVSS severity4.3
Medium
EPSS probability0.89%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Reflected XSS in VMware ESXi 7.0 and 8.0 and vCenter Server 8.0 allows remote attackers to steal cookies via crafted login-page URLs. The public vSphere Client proof of concept shows /folder copying an unencoded query string into a form action attribute, allowing injected script to execute in the browser. Execution requires a user to open the crafted URL in an active session; VMware has not identified the affected ESXi paths.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-41228
Published
May 20, 2025
Updated
Jun 24, 2025
Vendor
VMware
Product
VMware vCenter Server
Classifications
CWE-79, T1204.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 20, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jun 24, 2025Record 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=8.0 <8.0 U3e

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

VMware · VMware vCenter Serverversion=8.0 <8.0 U3e
VMware · VMware Telco Cloud Platformversion=5.x, 4.x, 3.x, 2.x
VMware · VMware Telco Cloud Infrastructureversion=3.x,2.x
VMware · VMware Cloud Foundationversion=5.x, 4.5.x
VMware · VMware ESXiversion=7.0 <ESXi70U3sv-24723868; version=8.0 <ESXi80U3se-24659227

Published CVSS scores

4.3VMwareCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-79Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
T1204.001Malicious Link

Public exploit references

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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