Evidence used
- CISA confirms exploitation in the wild.
- The selected CVSS metric records a network-reachable, unauthenticated path with no user interaction.
- EPSS is 54.57% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2024
CVE-2024-38812High confidence
VMware vCenter Server Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
VMware · vCenter Server
9.8CriticalCVSS 3.1
Protect now
Fix not verifiedCISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2024-12-11 as the remediation due date.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityCritical→Operational priority:Critical, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
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
- Confirm that the asset runs VMware vCenter Server and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2024-12-11 as the remediation due date.
Fix not verified01
What, why and how
VMware vCenter Server contains a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the implementation of the DCERPC protocol. This vulnerability could allow an attacker with network access to the vCenter Server to execute remote code by sending a specially crafted packet.
What
VMware vCenter Server contains a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the implementation of the DCERPC protocol. This vulnerability could allow an attacker with network access to the vCenter Server to execute remote code by sending a specially crafted packet.
Why
A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
What
VMware vCenter Server contains a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the implementation of the DCERPC protocol. This vulnerability could allow an attacker with network access to the vCenter Server to execute remote code by sending a specially crafted packet.
Why
A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation Confirmed in the wild
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2024-11-20.
Public PoC / exploit material None recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.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 → Heap-based Buffer Overflow → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
- Attack surface
- Network
- Privileges required
- None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
- Security boundary
- Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-122 ↗
CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow. A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().
- 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:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCommon 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.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's 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
- No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
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 vCenter Server: 8.0 < 8.0 U3b, 7.0 < 7.0 U3s
- VMware Cloud Foundation: 5.x, 4.x
- 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 17 Sept 2024 · Last source change 21 Oct 2025, 22:55 UTC · CWE-122 · Heap-based Buffer Overflow
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2024-37703
Product sourceCISA KEV
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD enriched
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
- Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: removed remediation: advisories.ncsc.nl/ncsc-2024-0377.json.security@vmware.com ↗
- Before
- remediation: advisories.ncsc.nl/ncsc-2024-0377.json · vendor advisory: support.broadcom.com/24968
- After
- vendor advisory: support.broadcom.com/24968
- Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Mitigation available to Awaiting fix.security@vmware.com ↗
- Before
- Mitigation available
- After
- Awaiting fix
- Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.CNA ↗
- Before
- 8.0 < 8.0 U3b; 7.0 < 7.0 U3s; 5.x; 4.x · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
- After
- VMware vCenter Server: 8.0 < 8.0 U3b, 7.0 < 7.0 U3s; VMware Cloud Foundation: 5.x, 4.x · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
- Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Awaiting fix to Mitigation available.NCSC-NL ↗
- Before
- Awaiting fix
- After
- Mitigation available
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.