Classification:
- Impact:
- Loss of confidentiality: An attacker can access sensitive information without authorization.
- Loss of integrity: Potential modification of critical data or configurations.
- Loss of availability: Possible disruption of affected services.
- Exploit: As of now, no known public exploits have been reported.
- Solution: Update to a patched version is recommended.
Affected Systems:
- VMware Tools versions 12.x.x and 11.x.x on Windows.
Risks:
- Privilege escalation : A non-administrative user could execute commands with elevated privileges, compromising system security.
- Authentication bypass : An attacker could access normally protected resources without providing valid credentials.
Vulnerability Summary
A critical vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-22230, has been discovered in VMware Tools for Windows. This flaw allows an attacker with non-administrative privileges on a Windows virtual machine to bypass authentication mechanisms and execute commands with elevated privileges.
Exploiting this vulnerability could enable an attacker to:
- Access sensitive data stored on the virtual machine.
- Alter or delete system files and configurations.
- Disable certain security mechanisms, thereby compromising system integrity.
- Prepare for more advanced attacks, such as establishing persistence or launching additional malicious actions.
Severity Score and References
- CVE-2025-22230
- CVSS 3.1 Score: 7.8 (High)
- CVSS Evaluation Criteria:
- Attack Vector : Local
- Attack Complexity : Low
- Privileges Required : Low
- User Interaction : None
- Confidentiality Impact : High
- Integrity Impact : High
- Availability Impact : High
Solution and Remediation Measures
Recommended update to VMware Tools version 12.5.1 (which patches the vulnerability).
Actions to take:
- Verify the current version of VMware Tools installed on affected machines.
- Download and install the patched version (12.5.1) available via Broadcom.
- Implement additional security measures by restricting user privileges on virtual machines.
- Monitor activity logs to detect any attempts to exploit this vulnerability.
Official Update and Information Link:
https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/25518Broadcom Advisory
This update is mandatory to ensure the security of virtualized environments using VMware Tools on Windows.
