{"id":"CVE-2024-37085","published":"2024-06-25T15:15:12Z","modified":"2026-06-17T07:37:43Z","title":"VMware ESXi Authentication Bypass Vulnerability","vendor":"VMware","product":"ESXi","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"VMware ESXi contains an authentication bypass vulnerability. A malicious actor with sufficient Active Directory (AD) permissions can gain full access to an ESXi host that was previously  configured to use AD for user management https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2012/09/joining-vsphere-hosts-to-active-directory.html  by re-creating the configured AD group ('ESXi Admins' by default) after it was deleted from AD.","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"VMware ESXi contains an authentication bypass flaw in its handling of Active Directory-based user management, affecting hosts previously configured to use AD. An attacker who already holds sufficient AD permissions can gain full access to the affected ESXi host by re-creating the configured AD group (ESXi Admins by default) after it has been deleted from AD.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-23T07:06:09Z"},"cvss":{"score":7.2,"severity":"HIGH","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.2677,"percentile":0.98025,"date":"2026-10-29","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2024-07-30","dueDate":"2024-08-20","ransomware":true,"requiredAction":"Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.","notes":"https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/24505;   https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-37085","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2024-04-23","exploitedFirstSeen":"2024-04-23","ransomware":true,"evidence":[{"url":"https://www.fortiguard.com/outbreak-alert/akira-ransomware","date":"2024-04-23"},{"url":"https://attackerkb.com/topics/2llWJbMF0o/cve-2024-37085","date":"2024-07-29"},{"url":"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2024/07/29/ransomware-operators-exploit-esxi-hypervisor-vulnerability-for-mass-encryption/","date":"2024-07-29"},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2024-07-30"},{"url":"https://www.cyfirma.com/research/tracking-ransomware-july-2024/","date":"2024-08-12"},{"url":"https://www.tenable.com/blog/cybersecurity-snapshot-guide-unpacks-event-logging-best-practices-as-faa-proposes-stronger","date":"2024-08-23"},{"url":"https://blog.talosintelligence.com/blackbyte-blends-tried-and-true-tradecraft-with-newly-disclosed-vulnerabilities-to-support-ongoing-attacks/","date":"2024-08-28"},{"url":"https://www.cyfirma.com/research/tracking-ransomware-august-2024/","date":"2024-09-09"},{"url":"https://blog.talosintelligence.com/akira-ransomware-continues-to-evolve/","date":"2024-10-21"},{"url":"https://blog.talosintelligence.com/incident-response-trends-q3-2024/","date":"2024-10-24"}],"evidenceTotal":27,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":{"pulseCount":50,"pulses":[{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 30, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae35d889ea92b4ce19c2680","created":"2026-10-29"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae20c1db17e7057ae7d9ad1","created":"2026-10-28"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae0ba7e0e2a97ff7b218819","created":"2026-10-27"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adf68b85c3e852f3c111d18","created":"2026-10-26"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adb740e397c3ad4799aa4cd","created":"2026-10-23"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ada236fcfba2dfa730ea482","created":"2026-10-22"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad8d33a077cbb5cab524d80","created":"2026-10-21"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 21, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad78130c4d1ac2be83a8b6d","created":"2026-10-20"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 20, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad62f63c24a405a3423cc13","created":"2026-10-19"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 19, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad4dda174e5797d0bd238b7","created":"2026-10-18"}],"provenance":"machine"},"cwes":[{"id":"CWE-287","name":"Improper Authentication"},{"id":"CWE-305","name":"Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness"}],"references":[{"url":"https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/24505","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/24505","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2024-37085","tags":["US Government Resource"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1078","name":"Valid Accounts","tactics":["initial-access","persistence","privilege-escalation","stealth"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Authentication Bypass","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[],"comment":"This vulnerability is exploited by an adversary who has already exploited an ESXi system and gained access to a valid account. Using this account, the adversary creates a new AD group named \"ESXi Admins\" that the ESXi Hypervisor grants full admin privileges. Adversary groups such as Storm-0506, Storm-1175, Octo Tempest, and Manatee Tempest have leveraged this vulnerability to deploy ransomware known as Akira and Black Basta onto compromised environments.","confidence":"high"},{"id":"T1068","name":"Exploitation for Privilege Escalation","tactics":["privilege-escalation"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Authentication Bypass","mappingType":"primary_impact","evidence":[],"comment":"This vulnerability is exploited by an adversary who has already exploited an ESXi system and gained access to a valid account. Using this account, the adversary creates a new AD group named \"ESXi Admins\" that the ESXi Hypervisor grants full admin privileges. Adversary groups such as Storm-0506, Storm-1175, Octo Tempest, and Manatee Tempest have leveraged this vulnerability to deploy ransomware known as Akira and Black Basta onto compromised environments.","confidence":"high"},{"id":"T1608.001","name":"Upload Malware","tactics":["resource-development"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Authentication Bypass","mappingType":"secondary_impact","evidence":[],"comment":"This vulnerability is exploited by an adversary who has already exploited an ESXi system and gained access to a valid account. Using this account, the adversary creates a new AD group named \"ESXi Admins\" that the ESXi Hypervisor grants full admin privileges. Adversary groups such as Storm-0506, Storm-1175, Octo Tempest, and Manatee Tempest have leveraged this vulnerability to deploy ransomware known as Akira and Black Basta onto compromised environments.","confidence":"high"}],"reports":[],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2024-36416","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2024-36416","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2024-07-30","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[],"exploitSources":{"pocGithub":{"count":2,"skipped":1,"earliest":"2024-08-02","earliestUrl":"https://github.com/mahmutaymahmutay/CVE-2024-37085","repos":[{"name":"mahmutaymahmutay/CVE-2024-37085","url":"https://github.com/mahmutaymahmutay/CVE-2024-37085","stars":2,"created":"2024-08-02"},{"name":"WTN-arny/Vmware-ESXI","url":"https://github.com/WTN-arny/Vmware-ESXI","stars":0,"created":"2024-08-12"}]},"first":{"date":"2024-08-02","source":"PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/mahmutaymahmutay/CVE-2024-37085"},"provenance":"source"},"detections":{"cveRules":[{"title":"Potential Exploitation of CVE-2024-37085 - Suspicious Creation Of ESX Admins Group","id":"c408acfe-2870-41df-8d2f-9f4daa4555ed","level":"high","status":"test","path":"rules-emerging-threats/2024/Exploits/CVE-2024-37085/proc_creation_win_exploit_cve_2024_37085_esxi_admins_group_creation.yml","url":"https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules-emerging-threats/2024/Exploits/CVE-2024-37085/proc_creation_win_exploit_cve_2024_37085_esxi_admins_group_creation.yml","techniques":[]},{"title":"Potential Exploitation of CVE-2024-37085 - Suspicious ESX Admins Group Activity","id":"47a1658b-67a4-48e2-8ab1-c10437fc0148","level":"high","status":"test","path":"rules-emerging-threats/2024/Exploits/CVE-2024-37085/win_security_exploit_cve_2024_37085_esxi_admins_group.yml","url":"https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules-emerging-threats/2024/Exploits/CVE-2024-37085/win_security_exploit_cve_2024_37085_esxi_admins_group.yml","techniques":[]}]},"exploitRefs":[],"flow":[{"stage":"exploitation","techniques":["T1078"],"provenance":"source"},{"stage":"primary","techniques":["T1068"],"provenance":"source"},{"stage":"secondary","techniques":["T1608.001"],"provenance":"source"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2024-04-23","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://www.fortiguard.com/outbreak-alert/akira-ransomware","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2024-06-25","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-37085","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2024-07-30","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV (known ransomware use)","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2024-07-30","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2024-36416","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2024-08-02","kind":"exploit-public","label":"First public exploit: PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/mahmutaymahmutay/CVE-2024-37085","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":38,"firstExploitFrom":"PoC-in-GitHub","daysToKev":35},"priority":{"score":77.6,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":0.0,"detail":"added 920 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":10.0,"detail":"CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV: Known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":19.61,"detail":"percentile 0.9802"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":0.0,"detail":"0 reports"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":5.0,"detail":"2 PoC-in-GitHub repos"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX pulses","points":3.0,"detail":"50 pulses"},{"name":"CVSS severity","points":5.04,"detail":"base score 7.2"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]}}