VMware vCenter Server 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.0 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2021-0010) - Nessus

Critical Plugin ID: 149902

This page contains detailed information about the VMware vCenter Server 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.0 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2021-0010) Nessus plugin including available exploits and PoCs found on GitHub, in Metasploit or Exploit-DB for verifying of this vulnerability.

Table Of Contents

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Plugin Overview
Vulnerability Information

Synopsis
Description
Solution

Public Exploits
Risk Information
Plugin Source
How to Run
References
Version

Plugin Overview

ID: 149902
Name: VMware vCenter Server 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.0 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2021-0010)
Filename: vmware_vcenter_vmsa-2021-0010.nasl
Vulnerability Published: 2021-05-25
This Plugin Published: 2021-05-25
Last Modification Time: 2022-01-21
Plugin Version: 1.8
Plugin Type: remote
Plugin Family: Misc.
Dependencies: vmware_vcenter_detect.nbin
Required KB Items [?]: Host/VMware/release, Host/VMware/vCenter, Host/VMware/version

Vulnerability Information

Severity: Critical
Vulnerability Published: 2021-05-25
Patch Published: 2021-05-25
CVE [?]: CVE-2021-21985, CVE-2021-21986
CPE [?]: cpe:/a:vmware:vcenter_server

Synopsis

A virtualization management application installed on the remote host is affected by multiple vulnerabilities.

Description

The version of VMware vCenter Server installed on the remote host is 6.5 prior to 6.5 U3p, 6.7 prior to 6.7 U3n or 7.0 prior to 7.0 U2b. It is, therefore, affected by multiple vulnerabilities:

- The vSphere Client (HTML5) contains a remote code execution vulnerability due to lack of input validation in the Virtual SAN Health Check plug-in which is enabled by default in vCenter Server. A malicious actor with network access to port 443 may exploit this issue to execute commands with unrestricted privileges on the underlying operating system that hosts vCenter Server. (CVE-2021-21985)

- The vSphere Client (HTML5) contains a vulnerability in a vSphere authentication mechanism for the Virtual SAN Health Check, Site Recovery, vSphere Lifecycle Manager, and VMware Cloud Director Availability plug-ins. A malicious actor with network access to port 443 on vCenter Server may perform actions allowed by the impacted plug-ins without authentication. (CVE-2021-21986)

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number. Nessus has also not tested for the presence of a workaround.

Solution

Upgrade to VMware vCenter Server 6.5 U3p, 6.7 U3n, 7.0 U2b or later or apply the workaround mentioned in the advisory.

Public Exploits

Target Network Port(s): 80, 443
Target Asset(s): Services/www
Exploit Available: True (Metasploit Framework, GitHub)
Exploit Ease: Exploits are available

Here's the list of publicly known exploits and PoCs for verifying the VMware vCenter Server 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.0 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2021-0010) vulnerability:

Metasploit: exploit/linux/http/vmware_vcenter_vsan_health_rce
[VMware vCenter Server Virtual SAN Health Check Plugin RCE]
GitHub: https://github.com/7roublemaker/VMware-RCE-check
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/DaveCrown/vmware-kb82374
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/HynekPetrak/HynekPetrak
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/Mr-xn/Penetration_Testing_POC
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/Pluto-123/cve-2021-21985
[CVE-2021-21985: asjbdjbsad]
GitHub: https://github.com/SexyBeast233/SecBooks
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/Spacial/awesome-csirt
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/alt3kx/CVE-2021-21985
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/alt3kx/CVE-2021-21985_PoC
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/aristosMiliaressis/CVE-2021-21985
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/brandonshiyay/My-Security-Learning-Resources
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/fardeen-ahmed/Bug-bounty-Writeups
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/haiclover/CVE-2021-21985
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/joydo/CVE-Writeups
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/lovechinacoco/https-github.com-mai-lang-chai-Middleware-Vulnerability-detection
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/n1sh1th/CVE-POC
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/r0eXpeR/supplier
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/testanull/Project_CVE-2021-21985_PoC
[CVE-2021-21985]
GitHub: https://github.com/DaveCrown/vmware-kb82374
[CVE-2021-21986]
GitHub: https://github.com/bigbroke/CVE-2021-21985
[CVE-2021-21985: Multiple vulnerabilities in the vSphere Client (HTML5) were privately reported to ...]
GitHub: https://github.com/daedalus/CVE-2021-21985
[CVE-2021-21985: CVE-2021-21985 vmware 6.7-9.8 RCE]
GitHub: https://github.com/mauricelambert/CVE-2021-21985
[CVE-2021-21985: This script check the CVE-2021-21985 vulnerability and patch on vCenter Server.]
GitHub: https://github.com/sknux/CVE-2021-21985_PoC
[CVE-2021-21985: VMWARE VCENTER SERVER VIRTUAL SAN HEALTH CHECK PLUG-IN RCE (CVE-2021-21985)]
GitHub: https://github.com/onSec-fr/CVE-2021-21985-Checker
[CVE-2021-21985: CVE-2021-21985 Checker (credits to alt3kx).]
GitHub: https://github.com/r0ckysec/CVE-2021-21985
[CVE-2021-21985: CVE-2021-21985 VMware vCenter Server远程代码执行漏洞 EXP (更新可回显EXP)]
GitHub: https://github.com/xnianq/cve-2021-21985_exp
[CVE-2021-21985: Cve-2021-21985 exploit]

Before running any exploit against any system, make sure you are authorized by the owner of the target system(s) to perform such activity. In any other case, this would be considered as an illegal activity.

WARNING: Beware of using unverified exploits from sources such as GitHub or Exploit-DB. These exploits and PoCs could contain malware. For more information, see how to use exploits safely.

Risk Information

CVSS Score Source [?]: CVE-2021-21986
CVSS V2 Vector: AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C/E:H/RL:OF/RC:C

CVSS Base Score:	10.0 (High)
Impact Subscore:	10.0
Exploitability Subscore:	10.0
CVSS Temporal Score:	8.7 (High)
CVSS Environmental Score:	NA (None)
Modified Impact Subscore:	NA
Overall CVSS Score:	8.7 (High)

CVSS V3 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H/RL:O/RC:C

CVSS Base Score:	9.8 (Critical)
Impact Subscore:	5.9
Exploitability Subscore:	3.9
CVSS Temporal Score:	9.4 (Critical)
CVSS Environmental Score:	NA (None)
Modified Impact Subscore:	NA
Overall CVSS Score:	9.4 (Critical)

STIG Severity [?]: I
STIG Risk Rating: High

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Plugin Source

#%NASL_MIN_LEVEL 70300
##
# (C) Tenable Network Security, Inc.
##

include('deprecated_nasl_level.inc');
include('compat.inc');

if (description)
{
  script_id(149902);
  script_version("1.8");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_modification_date", value:"2022/01/21");

  script_cve_id("CVE-2021-21985", "CVE-2021-21986");
  script_xref(name:"IAVA", value:"2021-A-0254");
  script_xref(name:"CISA-KNOWN-EXPLOITED", value:"2021/11/17");

  script_name(english:"VMware vCenter Server 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.0 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2021-0010)");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"synopsis", value:
"A virtualization management application installed on the remote host is affected by multiple vulnerabilities.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"description", value:
"The version of VMware vCenter Server installed on the remote host is 6.5 prior to 6.5 U3p, 6.7 prior to 6.7 U3n or 7.0
prior to 7.0 U2b. It is, therefore, affected by multiple vulnerabilities:

  - The vSphere Client (HTML5) contains a remote code execution vulnerability due to lack of input validation in the
    Virtual SAN Health Check plug-in which is enabled by default in vCenter Server. A malicious actor with network
    access to port 443 may exploit this issue to execute commands with unrestricted privileges on the underlying
    operating system that hosts vCenter Server. (CVE-2021-21985)

  - The vSphere Client (HTML5) contains a vulnerability in a vSphere authentication mechanism for the Virtual SAN
    Health Check, Site Recovery, vSphere Lifecycle Manager, and VMware Cloud Director Availability plug-ins. A
    malicious actor with network access to port 443 on vCenter Server may perform actions allowed by the impacted
    plug-ins without authentication. (CVE-2021-21986)

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version   
number. Nessus has also not tested for the presence of a workaround.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"see_also", value:"https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2021-0010.html");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"see_also", value:"https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2021/05/vmsa-2021-0010.html");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"solution", value:
"Upgrade to VMware vCenter Server 6.5 U3p, 6.7 U3n, 7.0 U2b or later or apply the workaround mentioned in the advisory.");
  script_set_cvss_base_vector("CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C");
  script_set_cvss_temporal_vector("CVSS2#E:H/RL:OF/RC:C");
  script_set_cvss3_base_vector("CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H");
  script_set_cvss3_temporal_vector("CVSS:3.0/E:H/RL:O/RC:C");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cvss_score_source", value:"CVE-2021-21986");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploitability_ease", value:"Exploits are available");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploit_available", value:"true");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"metasploit_name", value:'VMware vCenter Server Virtual SAN Health Check Plugin RCE');
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploit_framework_metasploit", value:"true");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"vuln_publication_date", value:"2021/05/25");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"patch_publication_date", value:"2021/05/25");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_publication_date", value:"2021/05/25");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_type", value:"remote");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/a:vmware:vcenter_server");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"stig_severity", value:"I");
  script_end_attributes();

  script_category(ACT_GATHER_INFO);
  script_family(english:"Misc.");

  script_copyright(english:"This script is Copyright (C) 2021-2022 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.");

  script_dependencies("vmware_vcenter_detect.nbin");
  script_require_keys("Host/VMware/vCenter", "Host/VMware/version", "Host/VMware/release");
  script_require_ports("Services/www", 80, 443);

  exit(0);
}

include('vcf_extras.inc');

var app_info = vcf::vmware_vcenter::get_app_info();

var constraints = [
  { 'min_version' : '6.5', 'fixed_version' : '6.5.17994927', 'fixed_display' : '6.5 U3p' },
  { 'min_version' : '6.7', 'fixed_version' : '6.7.17713311', 'fixed_display' : '6.7 U3n' },
  { 'min_version' : '7.0', 'fixed_version' : '7.0.17958471', 'fixed_display' : '7.0 U2b' },
];

vcf::check_version_and_report(
    app_info:app_info,
    constraints:constraints,
    severity:SECURITY_HOLE
);

The latest version of this script can be found in these locations depending on your platform:

Linux / Unix:
/opt/nessus/lib/nessus/plugins/vmware_vcenter_vmsa-2021-0010.nasl
Windows:
C:\ProgramData\Tenable\Nessus\nessus\plugins\vmware_vcenter_vmsa-2021-0010.nasl
Mac OS X:
/Library/Nessus/run/lib/nessus/plugins/vmware_vcenter_vmsa-2021-0010.nasl

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How to Run

Here is how to run the VMware vCenter Server 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.0 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2021-0010) as a standalone plugin via the Nessus web user interface (https://localhost:8834/):

Click to start a New Scan.
Select Advanced Scan.
Navigate to the Plugins tab.
On the top right corner click to Disable All plugins.
On the left side table select Misc. plugin family.
On the right side table select VMware vCenter Server 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.0 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2021-0010) plugin ID 149902.
Specify the target on the Settings tab and click to Save the scan.
Run the scan.

Here are a few examples of how to run the plugin in the command line. Note that the examples below demonstrate the usage on the Linux / Unix platform.

Basic usage:

/opt/nessus/bin/nasl vmware_vcenter_vmsa-2021-0010.nasl -t <IP/HOST>

Run the plugin with audit trail message on the console:

/opt/nessus/bin/nasl -a vmware_vcenter_vmsa-2021-0010.nasl -t <IP/HOST>

Run the plugin with trace script execution written to the console (useful for debugging):

/opt/nessus/bin/nasl -T - vmware_vcenter_vmsa-2021-0010.nasl -t <IP/HOST>

Run the plugin with using a state file for the target and updating it (useful for running multiple plugins on the target):

/opt/nessus/bin/nasl -K /tmp/state vmware_vcenter_vmsa-2021-0010.nasl -t <IP/HOST>

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References

IAVA | Information Assurance Vulnerability Alert:

2021-A-0254

See also:

Similar and related Nessus plugins:

150163 - VMware vCenter Server Virtual SAN Health Check plug-in RCE (CVE-2021-21985) (direct check)
111759 - ESXi 5.5 / 6.0 / 6.5 / 6.7 Speculative Execution Side Channel Vulnerability (Foreshadow) (VMSA-2018-0020) (remote check)
111760 - VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x / 6.0.x / 6.5.x / 6.7.x Speculative Execution Side Channel Vulnerability (Foreshadow) (VMSA-2018-0020)
112207 - VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 / 6.5 / 6.7 Information Disclosure vulnerability (VMSA-2018-0021)
112208 - VMware vSphere Data Protection 6.x Information Disclosure Vulnerability (VMSA-2018-0021
112209 - VMware vRealize Automation 6.x / 7.x Information Disclosure Vulnerability (VMSA-2018-0021
118885 - ESXi 6.0 / 6.5 / 6.7 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2018-0027) (Remote Check)
125218 - ESXi 6.0 / 6.5 / 6.7 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2019-0008)(MDSUM/RIDL) (MFBDS/RIDL/ZombieLoad) (MLPDS/RIDL) (MSBDS/Fallout)(Remote Check)
129493 - ESXi 6.0 / 6.5 / 6.7 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2019-0013)
129825 - VMware Harbor Privilege Escalation (VMSA-2019-0015) (CVE-2019-16097)
130004 - VMware Harbor 1.7.x < 1.7.6, 1.8.x < 1.8.3 (VMSA-2019-0015)
134877 - VMware ESXi 5.5 / 6.0 / 6.5 / 6.7 Information Disclosure (VMSA-2018-0012) (Spectre) (remote check)
135411 - VMware vCenter Server 6.7 Sensitive Information Disclosure Vulnerability (VMSA-2020-0006)
136746 - VMware Cloud Director 9.1.x < 9.1.0.4 / 9.5.x < 9.5.0.6 / 9.7.x < 9.7.0.5 / 10.0.x < 10.0.0.2 Code Injection (VMSA-2020-0010)
146825 - VMware vCenter Server RCE (direct check)
146826 - VMware vCenter Server 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.0 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2021-0002)
146827 - ESXi 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.0 RCE (VMSA-2021-0002)
148255 - VMware vRealize Operations Manager 7.5.x / 8.x Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2021-0004)
150163 - VMware vCenter Server Virtual SAN Health Check plug-in RCE (CVE-2021-21985) (direct check)
153544 - VMware vCenter Server < 6.7 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2021-0020)
153545 - VMware vCenter Server < 7.0 U2c Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2021-0020)
153547 - VMware vCenter Server < 6.5 U3q Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2021-0020)
153889 - VMware vCenter Server Arbitrary File Upload (VMSA-2021-0020)
155790 - VMware vCenter Server 6.5 / 6.7 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2021-0027)
156035 - VMware vCenter Log4Shell Direct Check (CVE-2021-44228) (VMSA-2021-0028)
156560 - VMware Horizon Log4Shell Direct Check (CVE-2021-44228) (VMSA-2021-0028)
156932 - VMware vRealize Operations Manager Log4Shell Direct Check (CVE-2021-44228) (VMSA-2021-0028)
159306 - VMware vCenter Server 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.0 Information Disclosure (VMSA-2022-0009)
66806 - VMware vCenter Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2012-0013)
70612 - VMware Security Updates for vCenter Server (VMSA-2013-0012)
70879 - ESXi 5.0 < Build 1311175 Multiple Vulnerabilities (remote check)
70880 - ESXi 5.0 < Build 515841 Multiple Vulnerabilities (remote check)
70881 - ESXi 5.0 < Build 608089 Multiple Vulnerabilities (remote check)
70885 - ESXi 5.0 < Build 912577 Multiple Vulnerabilities (remote check)
70886 - ESXi 5.1 < Build 1063671 Multiple Vulnerabilities (remote check)

Version

This page has been produced using Nessus Professional 10.1.2 (#68) LINUX, Plugin set 202205072148.
Plugin file vmware_vcenter_vmsa-2021-0010.nasl version 1.8. For more plugins, visit the Nessus Plugin Library.

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VMware vCenter Server 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.0 Multiple Vulnerabilities (VMSA-2021-0010) - Nessus

Plugin Overview

Vulnerability Information

Synopsis

Description

Solution

Public Exploits

Risk Information

Plugin Source

How to Run

References

Version

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