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No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2021-21999

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2021-06-23
  • Fixed in2103 · 2.18.10
  • WeaknessCWE-427

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

VMware Tools for Windows (11.x.y prior to 11.2.6), VMware Remote Console for Windows (12.x prior to 12.0.1) , VMware App Volumes (2.x prior to 2.18.10 and 4 prior to 2103) contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability. An attacker with normal access to a virtual machine may exploit this issue by placing a malicious file renamed as `openssl.cnf' in an unrestricted directory which would allow code to be executed with elevated privileges.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2021-06-2312:15CVE publishedNVD

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 21:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2021-21999?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2021-21999?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Vmware app volumes
BranchAffectedFixed in
2103.x≥ 4, < 21032103
2.x≥ 2.0, < 2.18.102.18.10
Vmware remote console
BranchAffectedFixed in
12.0≥ 12.0.0, < 12.0.112.0.1
Vmware tools
BranchAffectedFixed in
11.x≥ 11.0.0, < 11.2.611.2.6

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Fix

  1. Update Vmware app volumes to 2103 · 2.18.10

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
none listed
PoC-in-GitHub

Sources

  • NVDCVSS 3.17.8read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 2.07.2read 2026-10-23
  • NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-427read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score1.5 %2026-10-22

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2021-06-23
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-21999?

VMware Tools for Windows (11.x.y prior to 11.2.6), VMware Remote Console for Windows (12.x prior to 12.0.1) , VMware App Volumes (2.x prior to 2.18.10 and 4 prior to 2103) contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability. An attacker with normal access to a virtual machine may exploit this issue by placing a malicious file renamed as `openssl.cnf' in an unrestricted directory which would allow code to be executed with elevated privileges.

Is CVE-2021-21999 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2021-21999 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 1.5% on 2026-10-22, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-21999?

CVE-2021-21999 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.8 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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