What it is
CVE-2024-37085 is a vulnerability affecting VMware VMware ESXi, VMware Cloud Foundation. VMware ESXi contains an authentication bypass vulnerability. A malicious actor with sufficient Active Directory (AD) permissions...
Vulnerability report
Exploited in the wild
Confirmed confidence
In CISA KEV
CVE-2024-37085
VMware ESXi Authentication Bypass
VMware / VMware ESXi · 7.0
- Severity
- CVSS 6.8 · Medium
- Confidence
- Confirmed
- Exploit status
- Exploited in the wild
- EPSS
- 26.0%
- First observed
- —
- Last observed
- —
Decision summary
What security teams need to know first
Direct answers before the deeper technical record.
Is it exploited?
Yes. KEV Intelligence tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.
Who is affected?
VMware / VMware ESXi 7.0.
What should we do?
Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
Overview
VMware ESXi Authentication Bypass
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.
Vendor
Product
Affected
Status
vmware
esxi
7.0
Affected
vmware
cloud_foundation
Before 5.2
Affected
vmware
cloud_foundation
Before 5.0
Affected
vmware
esxi
Before ESXi80U3-24022510
Affected
n/a
VMware ESXi
Before ESXi80U3-24022510
Affected
n/a
VMware ESXi
7.0
Affected
n/a
VMware Cloud Foundation
5.x
Affected
n/a
VMware Cloud Foundation
4.x
Affected
- Published
- 25 Jun 2024
- Exploitation Reported
- 30 Jul 2024
- Attack vector
- Remote
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- Required
Tags
malware
ransomware
cisa
nessus_scanner
CVE References
- CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-37085
- support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/exter... support.broadcom.com · CVE Record https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/e...
Exploitation evidence
Why KEV Intelligence marks this CVE as exploited
Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.
Exploited in the wild
CISA
Independent exploitation attestation added to the KEV Intelligence record.
Used in malware
CISA
Malware families have been linked to exploitation of this CVE.
Known exploited vulnerability sources
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEV Intelligence Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| CISA First | 2024-07-30 00:00 UTC |
Detection
Operational artifacts and observed signals
Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.
Observed signals
- Request targets
- 0
- User-Agents
- 0
Raw values available in Pro and Enterprise.
Scanner coverage
Nessus template detected 02 Jun 2025.
View Nessus template (opens in new tab)Virtual patch status
No KEV Intelligence virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.
Learn about virtual patches →Scanner Artifacts
Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.
| Scanner | Reference | Detected |
|---|---|---|
| Nessus | https://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/201123 | 02 Jun 2025 |
Risk and context
Severity, weaknesses, and research context
CVSS v3.1
6.8
Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS
26.0%
Timeline
From disclosure to observed exploitation
-
Nessus plugin available
Scanner coverage available
-
Added to CISA KEV
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
-
First public exploitation report
Exploit observed in malware
-
CVE published
Vulnerability disclosed publicly
-
CVE ID reserved
Identifier reserved by the CNA
Pro API
Automate this intelligence
Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
- Evidence confidence and provenance
- First-party sensor telemetry
- PoC and scanner references
- Affected versions and enrichment
- Automation-ready JSON delivery
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2024-37085
Free JSON includes basic KEV fields{
"cve_id": "CVE-2024-37085",
"confidence": "Confirmed",
"cvss_score": 6.8,
"cvss_estimated": false,
"epss_score": 0.25952,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": false
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}Early warning alerts
Get alerts on high-impact exploitation
Receive curator-selected alerts when exploitation activity warrants attention. Each alert includes the evidence and context needed to decide what requires attention now.