Threats / VMware / CVE-2024-38812
CVE-2024-38812
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
VMware vCenter Server vulnerability
VMware vCenter Server contains a heap-based buffer overflow in DCERPC protocol handling, allowing remote code execution via specially crafted packets.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
Network-accessible vulnerability enabling unauthenticated remote code execution on vCenter Server infrastructure. Active exploitation observed in the wild with high exploit probability.
CISA KEV Yes · 2024-11-205EPSS 0.54571 (verify live)6CVSS 9.83CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Impact: total4
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
9 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2024-11-20).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.54571 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 9.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: VMware, vCenter Server. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CNA-assigned (CVE.org), version 3.1, set at disclosure.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-122 Heap-based Buffer Overflow — weakness family: Memory safety.CWE — CNA-assigned (CVE.org); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 64 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious DCERPC packet targeting the buffer overflow in vCenter Server's protocol handler.
Business
Attacker gains arbitrary code execution on virtualization infrastructure, compromising all hosted workloads.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I execute commands with vCenter Server process privileges to establish persistence and lateral movement.
Business
Complete compromise of virtual machine inventory, snapshots, and administrative credentials across the data center.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I pivot to managed ESXi hosts and guest virtual machines using compromised vCenter credentials.
Business
Attackers gain control of production systems, sensitive data, and can disrupt business continuity at scale.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05