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CVE-2021-21972

The vSphere Client (HTML5) contains a remote code execution vulnerability in a vCenter Server plugin. A malicious actor with network access to port 443 may exploit this issue to execute commands with unrestricted privileges on the underlying operating system that hosts vCenter Se…

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The vSphere Client (HTML5) contains a remote code execution vulnerability in a vCenter Server plugin. A malicious actor with network access to port 443 may exploit this issue to execute commands with unrestricted privileges on the underlying operating system that hosts vCenter Server. This affects VMware vCenter Server (7.x before 7.0 U1c, 6.7 before 6.7 U3l and 6.5 before 6.5 U3n) and VMware Cloud Foundation (4.x before 4.2 and 3.x before 3.10.1.2).
CVSS 9.8 (CRITICAL) KEV: KNOWN CATALOG

Attention and evidence

HYPE SCORE
0.0/10
REALITY · THREAT PRIORITY
9.0/10
General review priority; not probability

Evidence confidence: Exploitation recorded

Why this priority?
  • Recorded exploitation baseline: +7.00
  • Technical severity: CVSS 9.8: +1.47
  • Fresh EPSS: 99.87%: +0.50

General review priority, not probability, victim count or asset-specific risk. A range covers missing CVSS/EPSS inputs within the current evidence state.

Sources: 10 documents and public datasets.

Hype components

Headline sample (25%)
0/100
Press, 30 days (60%)
0/100
Grounded branding (15%)
0/100
HYPE TOTAL0/100

Sources and documents

Barracuda Blog
Press · 03 Sep 2026, 07:00 · Threat Spotlight: Unpatched software vulnerabilities - Barracuda Blog
Barracuda Networks Blog
Press · 09 Dec 2025, 08:00 · Barracuda detects increased probing for Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities - Barracuda Networks Blog
The Hacker News
Press · 21 Sep 2024, 07:00 · Hacktivist Group Twelve Targets Russian Entities with Destructive Cyber Attacks - The Hacker News
Qualys
Press · 06 May 2022, 07:00 · CISA Alert: Top 15 Routinely Exploited Vulnerabilities - Qualys
The Hacker News
Press · 08 May 2021, 07:00 · Top 12 Security Flaws Russian Spy Hackers Are Exploiting in the Wild - The Hacker News
See all 10 source documents
Check Point Research
Press · 01 Mar 2021, 08:00 · March 1st – Threat Intelligence Report - Check Point Research
SOC Prime
Press · 26 Feb 2021, 08:00 · Critical Unauthorized Remote Code Execution in VMware vCenter (CVE-2021-21972) - SOC Prime
Arctic Wolf
Press · 25 Feb 2021, 08:00 · CVE-2021-21972: RCE Vulnerability in VMware vCenter Server - Arctic Wolf
The Hacker News
Press · 24 Feb 2021, 08:00 · Critical RCE Flaws Affect VMware ESXi and vSphere Client — Patch Now - The Hacker News
Rapid7
Press · 24 Feb 2021, 08:00 · VMware vCenter Server CVE-2021-21972 Remote Code Execution Vulnerability: What You Need to Know - Rapid7

Score evolution

● Hype   ● Reality

Earlier evidence-support scores are retained in history; this chart shows only the current priority definition.

First record: hype 0.0 · reality 9.0 (2026-11-02 15:12). The curve appears once the score changes.

Public exploit evidence

4

Public exploit entries / repo candidates

See 4 repos with metrics
RepositoryStarsForksLanguageUpdated
psc4re/NSE-scripts16227Lua16 Aug 2021, 18:16
QmF0c3UK/CVE-2021-21972-vCenter-6.5-7.0-RCE-POC13661Python01 Mar 2021, 02:10
pettyhacks/vSphereyeeter31Python21 Jul 2022, 20:14
TAI-REx/CVE-2021-2197201—25 Feb 2021, 05:28
Public exploit evidence
Evidence context and dated references

Reality is general threat/review priority, combining observed exploitation, CVSS severity and fresh EPSS. Evidence confidence is separate. This is not calibrated risk, a victim count or an asset-specific assessment. A range reflects missing numeric inputs.

Evidence in context

Confidence in exploitation evidence
Exploitation recorded
Priority basis
Recorded exploitation; CVSS 9.8; EPSS 99.9%
Attention, last 30 days
0 distinct story titles; 0 press documents; 0 publisher domains.
Technical potential
network access, no prior privileges, no user interaction.
Observed activity
Exploitation recorded in CISA KEV.
Known scale
Not quantified.
Evidence confidence basis
Trusted exploitation confirmation

Score evaluated: 2026-11-05 13:58:23.782764+00:00 · EPSS snapshot: 2026-11-05T12:03:04Z

Source event timeline
First press mention
24 Feb 2021, 08:00
Published
24 Feb 2021, 16:42
Added to the CISA KEV catalog
03 Nov 2021, 00:00
Latest press mention
03 Sep 2026, 07:00
Score calculated
05 Nov 2026, 13:58
PoCs on GitHub
4 repositories