CVE-2025-22224: VMware ESXi and Workstation TOCTOU Race Condition Vulnerability
Advisory generated from the CVE record, CISA, Exploit Observer and VEDAS: what it is, whether it is exploited, who is affected, and how to fix and detect it.
Generated by VEDAS. Scores as of 2026-11-01 19:19 UTC. Rebuilt every few hours from cve-scores, CISA KEV and vedas-signatures. How this works and its limits.
What it is
VMware ESXi, and Workstation contain a TOCTOU (Time-of-Check Time-of-Use) vulnerability that leads to an out-of-bounds write. A malicious actor with local administrative privileges on a virtual machine may exploit this issue to execute code as the virtual machine’s VMX process running on the host.
Description quoted from the CVE record (assigned by vmware, published 2025-03-04).
Weakness: CWE-367 Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
How it can be exploited
Exploitable with local access with low attack complexity needing no privileges and no user interaction. Impact: confidentiality high, integrity high, availability high. CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
CISA assessment (SSVC): CISA assesses exploitation as active. Automatable: no. Technical impact: total.
- On CISA KEV since
- 2025-03-04
- US federal deadline
- 2025-03-25
- Ransomware use
- Not known
Public exploit evidence (Exploit Observer)
Also known as: BDU:2025-02354, CNNVD-202503-508, EUVD-2025-7603, GHSA-j652-46fv-w96g
VEDAS cluster: VEDAS:GARNETGLEAM
Exploit Observer links 5 pieces of public exploit code or detection modules that name this CVE or one of its aliases.
Exploit code and modules (5)
Code that names this CVE. A repository can be a working exploit, a scanner, a fake or malware; read it before running anything.
- Code repository: https://github.com/bronsoneaver/cve-2025-22224
- Code repository: https://github.com/lacelruz/cve-2025-22224
- Code repository: https://github.com/takerishunte/cve-2025-22224
- Code repository: https://github.com/takeshirisulu/cve-2025-22224
- Code repository: https://github.com/voyagken/cve-2025-22224-poc
Research and write-ups (5)
- Research or write-up: https://ptsecurity.com/research/trending-vulnerabilities/CVE-2025-22224
- Research or write-up: https://ptsecurity.com/ru-ru/research/trending-vulnerabilities/CVE-2025-22224
- Research or write-up: https://threatprotect.qualys.com/2025/03/05/vmware-esxi-workstation-and-fusion-vulnerabilities-added-to-cisa-kev-cve-2025-22224-cve-2025-22225-cve-2025-22226
- Research or write-up: https://www.rapid7.com/db/vulnerabilities/vmsa-2025-0004-cve-2025-22224
- Research or write-up: https://www.tenable.com/blog/cve-2025-22224-cve-2025-22225-cve-2025-22226-zero-day-vulnerabilities-in-vmware-esxi
Vulnerability databases and vendor advisories (7)
Catalogue entries, not exploit evidence.
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2025-22224
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/enisa/EUVD-2025-7603
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-j652-46fv-w96g
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-22224
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-22224
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://www.cnnvd.org.cn/home/globalSearch?keyword=CNNVD-202503-508
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://www.tenable.com/cve/CVE-2025-22224
272 more references returned by Exploit Observer did not name this CVE or an alias, so they are left out.
VEDAS data as of 2026-11-01T17:12 UTC; fetched 2026-11-02.
Live scores
- EPSS
- 0.016
some chance of attack soon - VEDAS
- 0.981
strong exploit evidence - On CISA KEV
- Yes, since 2025-03-04
- Detection rule
- Out of scope (local)
Thin horizontal line: the “likely” (EPSS 0.10) or “strong” (VEDAS 0.90) threshold. Shaded “no data” areas are periods when cve-scores did not publish.
Who is affected
| Product | Affected | Not affected |
|---|---|---|
| VMware ESXi | from 8.0 before ESXi80U3d-24585383 from 8.0 before ESXi80U2d-24585300 from 7.0 before ESXi70U3s-24585291 | Not stated |
| VMware Workstation | from 17.x before 17.6.3 | Not stated |
| VMware VMware Cloud Foundation | version 5.x, 4.5.x | Not stated |
| VMware Telco Cloud Platform | version 5.x, 4.x, 3.x, 2.x | Not stated |
| VMware Telco Cloud Infrastructure | version 3.x, 2.x | Not stated |
Version ranges exactly as the CVE record states them. “Before X” means X is the first fixed version.
Exploit Observer also maps it to: broadcom_inc. vmware_cloud_foundation, broadcom_inc. vmware_esxi, broadcom_inc. vmware_telco_cloud_platform, broadcom_inc. vmware_workstation, vmware cloud_foundation, vmware esxi, vmware telco_cloud_infrastructure, vmware telco_cloud_platform, vmware workstation.
How to fix it
Fixed versions stated in the CVE record: ESXi80U3d-24585383, ESXi80U2d-24585300, ESXi70U3s-24585291, 17.6.3.
CISA required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Vendor guidance:
- https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/25390
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-22224
How to detect it
This bug needs local access to exploit. VEDAS signatures cover remotely exploitable bugs for now, so there is no network rule or remote check for it. Patch it and watch your endpoint telemetry for unusual local activity.
References
Government sources
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-22224 (government-resource)
Other references
Other databases
Where this comes from
This advisory is generated automatically by VEDAS from: CVE.org record, CISA KEV, cve-scores (EPSS and VEDAS), Exploit Observer. Text in quotes is reproduced from the source; everything else is a fixed template filled with source fields. Nothing here is written by a language model. Check the vendor advisory before acting, and read how VEDAS and Exploit Observer work, and their limits.