Exploited

CVE-2023-20867

VMware (Broadcom) VMware Tools · Virtualization, VDI and cloud

VMware Tools Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

At a glance

Exploited. Added to CISA’s catalog of exploited vulnerabilities on June 23, 2023.

Affected product: VMware (Broadcom) VMware Tools (category Virtualization, VDI and cloud, indicative classification). Name in CISA’s catalog: VMware Tools.

What should I do?

Apply the security update from VMware (Broadcom).

Deadline set by CISA for US federal agencies: 21 days (due July 14, 2023). It only binds those agencies, but it is a useful measure of urgency.

VMware (Broadcom) security advisories page (general page, not the advisory for this vulnerability)
The vendor’s specific advisory is listed in the NVD references: CVE-2023-20867 on the NVD website.

Original text of the required action (CISA)

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Timeline

June 13, 2023 Vulnerability published Publication date (NVD)
June 23, 2023 Exploitation confirmed Added to CISA’s KEV catalog
July 14, 2023 CISA deadline Remediation deadline set for US federal agencies

The facts, with their sources

Exploitation confirmed: Yes, on June 23, 2023 Date added to the catalog of exploited vulnerabilities. Exploitation itself may have started earlier. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Ransomware: No known use to date That does not guarantee it is not being used: the information is not public. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Hunt for compromise: Not requested by CISA Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA required action: Apply the security update from VMware (Broadcom). Rewritten by this site from CISA’s original text. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA deadline: July 14, 2023, 21 days Set for US federal agencies: a measure of urgency, not an obligation elsewhere. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Vulnerability published: June 13, 2023 Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC
Product according to CISA: VMware Tools Filed by this site under “Virtualization, VDI and cloud” (indicative classification). Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N Technical detail of the score: attack vector, complexity, impact. Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC

Severity and activity

3.9 / 10 CVSS severity: low

Score from the NVD. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

— Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS)

FIRST’s EPSS model. Since exploitation is already confirmed, this figure is mostly useful to compare activity. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

Description

A fully compromised ESXi host can force VMware Tools to fail to authenticate host-to-guest operations, impacting the confidentiality and integrity of the guest virtual machine.

VMware Tools contains an authentication bypass vulnerability in the vgauth module. A fully compromised ESXi host can force VMware Tools to fail to authenticate host-to-guest operations, impacting the confidentiality and integrity of the guest virtual machine. An attacker must have root access over ESXi to exploit this vulnerability.

Summary from CISA (KEV catalog).

CERT-FR advisories

No advisory among the latest CERT-FR publications this site follows. That does not mean there are none.

Information reused under the Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab); the date of last update is shown for each advisory. This site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by ANSSI.

Sources for this page

CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, required action, deadline, ransomware.
NVD (NIST): CVSS severity, publication date, description, vendor references.
EPSS (FIRST): probability of exploitation.
CERT-FR: advisories and alerts (in French).
Brand and category: indicative classification by this site (method).