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Full vulnerability report · 2020
CVE-2020-4006High confidence

Multiple VMware Products Command Injection Vulnerability

VMware · Multiple Products

9.1CriticalCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Protect now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-05-03 as the remediation due date.

Fix not verified
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityCriticalOperational priority:Critical, unchanged from published severity.unchanged

Evidence used

  • CISA confirms exploitation in the wild.
  • EPSS is 17.30% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
  • Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs VMware Multiple Products and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 3 daysRemediation target: Within 90 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2020-25271

CISA KEV mirrored by ENISA

VMware Workspace One Access, Access Connector, Identity Manager, and Identity Manager Connector address have a command injection vulnerability.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Recorded by ENISA since 3 Nov 2021. Evidence sources: cisa_kev.
ENISA score
9.1 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionProtect now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-05-03 as the remediation due date.

Fix not verified
01

What, why and how

VMware Workspace One Access, Access Connector, Identity Manager, and Identity Manager Connector contain a command injection vulnerability. An attacker with network access to the administrative configurator on port 8443 and a valid password for the configurator administrator account can execute commands with unrestricted privileges on the underlying operating system.

What

VMware Workspace One Access, Access Connector, Identity Manager, and Identity Manager Connector contain a command injection vulnerability. An attacker with network access to the administrative configurator on port 8443 and a valid password for the configurator administrator account can execute commands with unrestricted privileges on the underlying operating system.

Why

Untrusted input is incorporated into an operating-system command without safe parameter handling.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

What

VMware Workspace One Access, Access Connector, Identity Manager, and Identity Manager Connector contain a command injection vulnerability. An attacker with network access to the administrative configurator on port 8443 and a valid password for the configurator administrator account can execute commands with unrestricted privileges on the underlying operating system.

Why

Untrusted input is incorporated into an operating-system command without safe parameter handling.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Confirmed in the wild

CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2021-11-03.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') → execute code or commands in the affected security context
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
High: elevated access is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Changed: exploitation can affect a different security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-78 ↗

CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection'). The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRHighPrivileges required: The attacker needs elevated or administrative privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SChangedScope: The attack can affect a component governed by a different security authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
After compromise, an attacker may use built-in shells, scripting engines, scheduled tasks and native network utilities for discovery, persistence or movement. This is a plausible LoTL path, not evidence that it has occurred for every attack.
NetworkRemote code executionCWE-78CISA KEV
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-25271Known-exploited evidence recorded

VMware Workspace One Access, Access Connector, Identity Manager, and Identity Manager Connector address have a command injection vulnerability.

Official EUVD record ↗
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security · English · AL21-007APT Actors Target U.S. and Allied Networks - update 1

On 15 April 2021, the NSA, CISA, and FBI issued a Joint Cybersecurity Advisory [ 1 ], drawing attention to widespread scanning and exploitation of several vulnerabilities by APT actors. The advisory states that the APT actors are targeting vulnerable systems to obtain authentication credentials and enable further access within networks, including national security and government systems. Examples of recent activity include compromising SolarWinds Orion updates, targeting COVID-19 research facilities, and leveraging a VMWare vulnerability for authentication abuse. The Cybersecurity Advisory highlights the following vulnerabilities being exploited: CVE-2018-13379 Fortinet [ 2 ], [ 3 ] CVE-2019-9670 Zimbra [ 3 ] CVE-2019-11510 Pulse Secure [ 3 ], [ 4 ] CVE-2019-19781 Citrix [ 3 ] CVE-2020-4006 VMware [ 5 ] UPDATE 1 [ 6 ] CVE-2020-5902 F5 Big-IP CVE-2020-14882 Oracle WebLogic CVE-2021-21972 VMWare vSphere CVE-2019-1653 Cisco router CVE-2019-2725 Oracle WebLogic Server CVE-2019-7609 Kibana CVE-2021-26857 Exchange (SOAP payload) CVE-2021-26858 Exchange (Arbitrary files) CVE-2021-27065 Exchange (Arbitrary files) The Cyber Centre is highlighting this advisory, as it provides important information to system owners and operators responsible for defending their systems and networks from cyber threats. There are software updates and mitigations for these vulnerabilities. See past reporting by the Cyber Center and partners for more details. Should activity matching the content of this Alert be discovered, recipients are encouraged to contact the Cyber Centre by email ( contact@cyber.gc.ca ) or by telephone ( 1-833-CYBER-88 or 1-833-292-3788 ).

Official advisory ↗
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security · English · AL20-027Active exploitation of VMware vulnerability

On 7 December the Cyber Centre was made aware of active exploitation of a VMware command injection vulnerability (CVE-2020-4006) using stolen credentials [ 1 ], which are frequently used to exploit systems [ 2 ]. A malicious actor with network access to the administrative configurator on port 8443 and a valid password for the configurator admin account can execute commands with unrestricted privileges on the underlying operating system [ 3 ]. The list of vulnerable products includes VMware Workspace One Access, Access Connector, Identity Manager, and Identity Manager Connector.

Official advisory ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20201125Security Bulletin 25 Nov 2020

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 25 Nov 2020, published on 25 November 2020. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2020-AVI-771Vulnérabilité dans les produits VMware

Une vulnérabilité a été découverte dans les produits VMware. Elle permet à un attaquant de provoquer une exécution de code arbitraire à distance.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2020-009649複数の VMware 製品に OS コマンドインジェクションの脆弱性

VMware が提供する複数の製品には、OS コマンドインジェクション (CWE-78) の脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-5232VMware 제품 보안 업데이트 권고

o VMware 社는 자사 제품에서 발생하는 취약점을 해결한 보안 업데이트 발표 [1] o 공격자는 해당 취약점을 악용하여 명령어 삽입 등의 피해를 발생시킬 수 있으므로, 최신버전으로 업데이트 권고 ##### □ 주요 내용 o VMware 제품의 관리 구성기(Administrative Configurator)에서 발생하는 명령어 삽입 취약점(CVE-2020-4006) [1]

Official advisory ↗
KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-5218VMware 제품군 보안 주의 권고

o VMware 社는 자사 제품에서 발생하는 취약점 주의 발표 [1] o 공격자는 해당 취약점을 악용하여 명령어 삽입 등의 피해를 발생시킬 수 있으므로, 임시 해결 방안에 따라 조치 권고 ※ 추후 VMware의 패치가 공개되는 시점에 재공지 예정 ##### □ 주요 내용 o VMware 제품의 관리 구성기(Administrative Configurator)에서 발생하는 명령어 삽입 취약점(CVE-2020-4006) [1]

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Fix not verified
Affected
VMware Workspace One Access (Access), VMware Workspace One Access Connector (Access Connector), VMware Identity Manager (vIDM), VMware Identity Manager Connector (vIDM Connector), VMware Cloud Foundation, vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager: Multiple
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 23 Nov 2020 · Last source change 21 Oct 2025, 23:35 UTC · CWE-78 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-25271
Product sourceCISA KEV
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCISA ADP
NVD statusNVD enriched

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    Multiple · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    After
    VMware Workspace One Access (Access), VMware Workspace One Access Connector (Access Connector), VMware Identity Manager (vIDM), VMware Identity Manager Connector (vIDM Connector), VMware Cloud Foundation, vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager: Multiple · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    CNA ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2020-4006 · cve.blacktree.nl