CVE-2025-41244: Broadcom VMware Aria Operations and VMware Tools Privilege Defined with Unsafe Actions 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 Aria Operations and VMware Tools contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability. A malicious local actor with non-administrative privileges having access to a VM with VMware Tools installed and managed by Aria Operations with SDMP enabled may exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges to root on the same VM.
Description quoted from the CVE record (assigned by vmware, published 2025-09-29).
Weakness: CWE-267
How it can be exploited
Exploitable with local access with low attack complexity needing low privileges and no user interaction. Impact: confidentiality high, integrity high, availability high. CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CISA assessment (SSVC): CISA assesses exploitation as active. Automatable: no. Technical impact: total.
- On CISA KEV since
- 2025-10-30
- US federal deadline
- 2025-11-20
- Ransomware use
- Not known
Public exploit evidence (Exploit Observer)
Also known as: BDU:2025-12421, CNNVD-202509-4393, EUVD-2025-31589, GHSA-76fp-m4vp-hxrq
VEDAS cluster: VEDAS:BEATINGBADGER
Exploit Observer links 3 pieces of public exploit code or detection modules that name this CVE or one of its aliases.
Exploit code and modules (3)
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/haspiranti/cve-2025-41244-poc
- Code repository: https://github.com/ibo-attacks/cve-2025-41244
- Code repository: https://github.com/null200ok/cve-2025-41244
Research and write-ups (2)
- Research or write-up: https://blog.nviso.eu/2025/09/29/you-name-it-vmware-elevates-it-cve-2025-41244
- Research or write-up: https://socprime.com/blog/cve-2025-41244-zero-day-vulnerability
Vulnerability databases and vendor advisories (13)
Catalogue entries, not exploit evidence.
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2025-41244
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/enisa/EUVD-2025-31589
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-76fp-m4vp-hxrq
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://linux.oracle.com/cve/CVE-2025-41244.html
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-41244
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/UBUNTU-CVE-2025-41244
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://redos.red-soft.ru/support/secure/uyazvimosti/uyazvimost-open-vm-tools-cve-2025-41244/?sphrase_id=1338972
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://support.broadcom.com/group/ecx/support-content-view/-/support-content/Security%20Advisories/VMSA-2025-0015--VMware-Aria-Operations-and-VMware-Tools-updates-address-multiple-vulnerabilities--CVE-2025-41244-CVE-2025-41245--CVE-2025-41246-/36149
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-41244
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-41244
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://www.cnnvd.org.cn/home/globalSearch?keyword=CNNVD-202509-4393
- Vulnerability database or vendor advisory: https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-41244
- and 1 more
81 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
- 0.086
some chance of attack soon - VEDAS
- 0.970
strong exploit evidence - On CISA KEV
- Yes, since 2025-10-30
- 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. The vertical line is the day CISA added it to its exploited list.
Who is affected
| Product | Affected | Not affected |
|---|---|---|
| VMware VCF operations | from 9.0.x before 9.0.1.0 | Not stated |
| VMware VMware tools | from 13.x.x.x before 13.0.5.0 from 12.5.x before 12.5.4 | Not stated |
| VMware VMware Aria Operations | from 8.18.x before 8.18.5 | Not stated |
| VMware VMware Cloud Foundation | from 5.x before 8.18.5 from 4.x before 8.18.5 | Not stated |
| VMware VMware Telco Cloud Platform | from 5.x before 8.18.5 from 4.x before 8.18.5 | Not stated |
| VMware VMware Telco Cloud Infrastructure | from 3.x before 8.18.5 from 2.x before 8.18.5 | 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_telco_cloud_infrastructure, broadcom_inc. vmware_telco_cloud_platform, broadcom_inc. vmware_tools, broadcom_inc. vmware_vsphere, vmware aria_operations, vmware cloud_foundation, vmware cloud_foundation_operations, vmware open_vm_tools, vmware telco_cloud_infrastructure.
How to fix it
Fixed versions stated in the CVE record: 9.0.1.0, 13.0.5.0, 12.5.4, 8.18.5.
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/0/36149 (vendor-advisory)
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
Vendor advisories and patches
- https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/36149 (vendor-advisory)
Exploits and technical analysis
- https://blog.nviso.eu/2025/09/29/you-name-it-vmware-elevates-it-cve-2025-41244/ (exploit, technical-description)
Government sources
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-41244 (government-resource)
Other references
- http://support.broadcom.com/group/ecx/support-content-view/-/support-content/Security%20Advisories/VMSA-2025-0015--VMware-Aria-Operations-and-VMware-Tools-updates-address-multiple-vulnerabilities--CVE-2025-41244-CVE-2025-41245--CVE-2025-41246-/36149
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00000.html
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/09/29/10
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.