CVE Intelligence
CISA KEV High Access control exploit reference

CVE-2022-22960 — VMware Multiple Products Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

VMware Workspace ONE Access, Identity Manager and vRealize Automation contain a privilege escalation vulnerability due to improper permissions in support scripts. A malicious actor with local access can escalate privileges to 'root'.

Published Apr 13, 2022 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: vmware

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

CISA KEV · Apr 15, 2022 Metasploit modules · 1
How the score was calculated
  • Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
  • Public exploit/PoC (metasploit)+12
  • EPSS 35.5% (30-day exploitation probability)+15
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Confirmed
CISA KEV, listed Apr 15, 2022
EPSS FIRST
35.52%
ahead of 98% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Vmware
Cloud Foundation and 4 more
CVSS base
7.8
High · 3 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
Active
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented patch — www.vmware.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

CISA required action CISA

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

US federal deadline: May 6, 2022 — passed 1623 day(s) ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Vmware Cloud Foundation, Vmware Identity Manager, Vmware Vrealize Automation…).
  2. Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
  3. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  4. EPSS ahead of 98% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  5. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (access control), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Vmware Cloud Foundation ≥ 3.0 and < 5.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Vmware Identity Manager version 3.3.3version 3.3.4version 3.3.5version 3.3.6 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Vmware Vrealize Automation version 7.6 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Vmware Vrealize Suite Lifecycle Manager ≥ 8.0 and < 9.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Vmware Workspace One Access version 20.10.0.0version 20.10.0.1version 21.08.0.0version 21.08.0.1 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High — — CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
7.2 CVSS 2.0 High 3.9 10.0 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-732 · Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource

Other CVEs with this weakness →

CISA KEV details CISA

CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

Listed
Apr 15, 2022
Federal deadline
May 6, 2022
passed 1623 day(s) ago
Ransomware use
Unknown

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.

Public exploits, PoCs and detection templates

Public code that demonstrates or tests the flaw raises the odds of mass exploitation — and Nuclei templates help find vulnerable assets in your environment.

Metasploit modules

Warning: public PoCs are sometimes disguised malware. Use them only for authorized testing in an isolated environment. This portal does not host exploit code — it only points to the sources.

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 35.52%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
  • Audit administrative actions and access to resources outside each user’s normal pattern.
  • Hunt retroactively in logs from before Apr 15, 2022 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)authentication logsapplication logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Affected products added · vmware/cloud foundation, vmware/identity manager, vmware/vrealize automation, vmware/vrealize suite lifecycle manager, v
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 7.8
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Added to CISA KEV (detected)
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • 2022
  • Added to CISA KEV catalog
    Apr 14, 2022 · CISA
  • CVE published
    Apr 13, 2022 · vmware

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

5 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Vmware
every CVE for this vendor
2022-04
what else CISA listed that month
Access control
same class
CWE-732
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-59310 Broadcom VMware vCenter Path Traversal Vulnerability KEV Jul 30, 2026
  • CVE-2026-41724 VMSA-2026-0004: VMware Cloud Foundation Operations updates address multiple vulnerabilities (CVE-2026-41722, CVE-2026-41723 and CVE-2026-41724) Jun 8, 2026
  • CVE-2026-41723 VMSA-2026-0004: VMware Cloud Foundation Operations updates address multiple vulnerabilities (CVE-2026-41722, CVE-2026-41723 and CVE-2026-41724) Jun 8, 2026
  • CVE-2026-41722 VMSA-2026-0004: VMware Cloud Foundation Operations updates address multiple vulnerabilities (CVE-2026-41722, CVE-2026-41723 and CVE-2026-41724) Jun 8, 2026
  • CVE-2026-22721 VMware Aria Operations privilege escalation vulnerability Feb 25, 2026
  • CVE-2026-22720 VMware Aria Operations stored cross-site scripting vulnerability Feb 25, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2022-22960 is "VMware Multiple Products Privilege Escalation Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Cloud Foundation (Vmware); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 7.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 35.52% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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