How severe is CVE-2021-22005?

CVE-2021-22005 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which products are affected by CVE-2021-22005?

CVE-2021-22005 affects the following products: vmware cloud foundation, vmware vcenter server.

How do I patch CVE-2021-22005?

Apply the vmware cloud foundation security patch or hotfix for CVE-2021-22005 on the affected version, following the vendor advisory for your exact build.

How do I detect CVE-2021-22005 across my infrastructure?

Inventory every vmware cloud foundation deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.

How do I mitigate CVE-2021-22005 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Is CVE-2021-22005 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 18 known exploit references for CVE-2021-22005, including 12 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2021-22005?

CVE-2021-22005 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 100.0%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2021-22005 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2021-22005 (VMware vCenter Server File Upload Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2021-11-03. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2021-11-17. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. This CVE has been used in known ransomware campaigns. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2021-22005?

CVE-2021-22005 is classified as Path Traversal (CWE-22). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2021-22005?

CVE-2021-22005 affects vmware cloud foundation; vmware vcenter server (3 versions, e.g. 6.5, 6.7, 7.0). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2021-22005?

A Nuclei detection template exists for CVE-2021-22005, meaning automated scanners can fingerprint it. A Metasploit module references CVE-2021-22005, which lowers the barrier to weaponization. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2021-22005 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-22005 was published on September 23, 2021 and was last updated on June 17, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

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CISA KEV · ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

CRITICAL severity

CVE-2021-22005 — Cloud Foundation

CRITICAL

CVE-2021-22005 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Path Traversal vulnerability in vmware cloud foundation. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03) and has been used in ransomware campaigns — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. A fix is available — see the affected versions and patch details below.

The vCenter Server contains an arbitrary file upload vulnerability in the Analytics service. A malicious actor with network access to port 443 on vCenter Server may exploit this issue…

Published

Sep 23, 2021

Updated

Jun 17, 2026

Affected

2 products

Patched

See advisory

Exploits

18 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 23, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03 — including use in ransomware campaigns. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2021-11-17.
CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for CVE-2021-22005.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

100.0%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs100th percentile — riskier than 100% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2021-22005 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 395,249 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the ≥ 90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Description

The vCenter Server contains an arbitrary file upload vulnerability in the Analytics service. A malicious actor with network access to port 443 on vCenter Server may exploit this issue to execute code on vCenter Server by uploading a specially crafted file.

Affected Products

2 products · 4 configurations

Application

cloud foundationvmware

≥ 3.0 && < 5.0

range

Application

vcenter servervmware

3 versions

6.56.77.0

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.