How severe is CVE-2022-22948?

CVE-2022-22948 has a CVSS score of 6.5/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which products are affected by CVE-2022-22948?

CVE-2022-22948 affects the following products: vmware cloud foundation, vmware vcenter server.

How do I patch CVE-2022-22948?

No patch has shipped for CVE-2022-22948 yet — track the vmware cloud foundation advisory for a fixed release and apply the workarounds below in the meantime.

How do I detect CVE-2022-22948 across my infrastructure?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-22948 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Close the privilege gap rather than the entry point: audit which accounts, roles and service identities can reach the affected operation, drop the component to the least privilege it actually needs, and review file and directory permissions created by earlier installs — a default left in place is what makes this reachable. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Is CVE-2022-22948 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 6 known exploit references for CVE-2022-22948, including 5 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-2022-22948?

CVE-2022-22948 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 13.3%, placing it in the 96th 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. This score warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

Is CVE-2022-22948 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2022-22948 (VMware vCenter Server Incorrect Default File Permissions Vulnerability ) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2024-07-17. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2024-08-07. The required action was: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. 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-2022-22948?

CVE-2022-22948 is classified as Incorrect Default Permissions (CWE-276). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2022-22948?

CVE-2022-22948 affects vmware cloud foundation (2 versions, e.g. 3.0, 4.0); 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.

When was CVE-2022-22948 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-22948 was published on March 29, 2022 and was last updated on October 21, 2025. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🛡️

CISA KEV · ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2022-22948 — Cloud Foundation

MEDIUM

CVE-2022-22948 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) Incorrect Default Permissions vulnerability in vmware cloud foundation. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2024-07-17) — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.

The vCenter Server contains an information disclosure vulnerability due to improper permission of files. A malicious actor with non-administrative access to the vCenter Server may exploit…

Published

Mar 29, 2022

Updated

Oct 21, 2025

Affected

2 products

Patched

See advisory

Exploits

6 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 21, 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 2024-07-17. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2024-08-07.
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-2022-22948.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

13.3%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Moderate Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs96th percentile — riskier than 96% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2022-22948 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 394,803 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Description

The vCenter Server contains an information disclosure vulnerability due to improper permission of files. A malicious actor with non-administrative access to the vCenter Server may exploit this issue to gain access to sensitive information.

Affected Products

2 products · 5 configurations

Application

cloud foundationvmware

2 versions

3.04.0

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.