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ExploitedIn CISA KEVFix available

CVE-2023-20867

Exploitation confirmed. First attested on 2023-06-23 by CISA-ADP, CISA KEV, GCVE · kevintel.

  • Published2023-06-13
  • WeaknessCWE-287

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

A fully compromised ESXi host can force VMware Tools to fail to authenticate host-to-guest operations, impacting the confidentiality and integrity of the guest virtual machine.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2023-06-1317:15CVE publishedNVD
  2. 2023-06-23Added to the CISA KEV catalogCISA KEV
  3. 2023-06-23Listed as exploited by GCVEGCVE
  4. 2023-06-23Exploitation first reportedCISA KEV
  5. 2025-02-0419:00SSVC exploitation set to activeCISA-ADP

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-11-04 09:37 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-2023-20867?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2023-20867?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Debian debian linux
BranchAffectedFixed in
10.0= 10.0no fix published
11.0= 11.0no fix published
12.0= 12.0no fix published
Fedoraproject fedora
BranchAffectedFixed in
37.x= 37no fix published
38.x= 38no fix published
39.x= 39no fix published
Vmware tools
BranchAffectedFixed in
12.2≥ 10.3.0, < 12.2.512.2.5

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

Products declared by the CNA1 product

As vmware, the CNA that assigned this CVE, declared them in the CVE record; versions as written.

  • VMware Toolsother versions: not affected

    platforms: Windows, Linux

    Not affected = 12.2.5

Source: the CNA record (CVE Program), © The MITRE Corporation,CVE Terms of UseCVE recordupdated 2023-10-16

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Packages

  • open-vm-toolsUbuntu:Pro:18.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 2:11.0.5-4ubuntu0.18.04.3+esm1
  • open-vm-toolsUbuntu:Pro:16.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 2:10.2.0-3~ubuntu0.16.04.1+esm2
  • open-vm-toolsUbuntu:22.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 2:12.1.5-3~ubuntu0.22.04.2
  • open-vm-toolsUbuntu:20.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 2:11.3.0-2ubuntu0~ubuntu20.04.5
  • open-vm-toolsSUSE:Manager Server 4.2all versions · fixed in 12.2.0-150300.29.1
  • open-vm-toolsSUSE:Manager Proxy 4.2all versions · fixed in 12.2.0-150300.29.1
  • open-vm-toolsSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3all versions · fixed in 12.2.0-150300.29.1
  • open-vm-toolsSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2all versions · fixed in 11.3.5-150200.5.16.16.1

60 more package ranges on OSV.dev

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2023-20867 Red Hat Product Security146 products fixed

    open-vm-tools: authentication bypass vulnerability in the vgauth module

  • RHSA-2023:3950 Red Hat Product Security9 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: open-vm-tools security update

  • RHSA-2023:3949 Red Hat Product Security10 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: open-vm-tools security update

  • RHSA-2023:3944 Red Hat Product Security24 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: open-vm-tools security and bug fix update

  • RHSA-2023:3948 Red Hat Product Security19 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: open-vm-tools security update

  • RHSA-2023:3946 Red Hat Product Security27 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: open-vm-tools security update

2 more advisories

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. CISA’s required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.due 2023-07-14
  2. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2023:3950 · 9 productsFor details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258
  3. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2023:3944 · 24 productsBefore applying this update, make sure all previously released errata relevant to your system have been applied. For details on how to apply this update, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

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
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Date Added
2023-06-23
Patch Due Date
2023-07-14
Ransomware Use
Unknown
Required Action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Sources

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Published
2023-06-13
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Analyzed
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-qm59-f7vh-3m2p

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-20867?

A fully compromised ESXi host can force VMware Tools to fail to authenticate host-to-guest operations, impacting the confidentiality and integrity of the guest virtual machine.

Is CVE-2023-20867 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2023-20867 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, meaning it has been confirmed as actively exploited in the wild. CISA requires federal agencies to patch by 2023-07-14.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-20867?

CVE-2023-20867 has a CVSS v3 base score of 3.9 (LOW severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.

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Sources for this record