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CVE Record

CVE-2021-21974: OpenSLP as used in ESXi (7.0 before ESXi70U1c-17325551, 6.7 before ESXi670-202102401-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650...

OpenSLP as used in ESXi (7.0 before ESXi70U1c-17325551, 6.7 before ESXi670-202102401-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202102101-SG) has a heap-overflow vulnerability. A malicious actor residing within the same network segment as ESXi who has access to port 427 may be able to trigger the heap-overflow issue in OpenSLP service resulting in remote code execution.

HighCVSS 8.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysis

Security readout for executives and security teams

This flaw affects VMware ESXi OpenSLP. An attacker already on the same network segment as a vulnerable host could reach port 427 and potentially run code on the hypervisor. Because ESXi hosts underpin many workloads, compromise could threaten confidentiality, integrity, and availability across virtualized systems. Organizations running older VMware ESXi 7.0, 6.7, or 6.5 builds, or VMware Cloud Foundation 4.x before 4.2 and 3.x, are the likely exposure group. Risk is highest where ESXi port 427 is reachable from shared management, server, or adjacent network segments. Treat this as high priority for virtualization environments. It is not listed as KEV in the bundle, but the potential impact is severe because successful exploitation could affect the hypervisor layer supporting many systems. Mitigation focus: Apply the VMware fixed ESXi builds or later versions named in VMSA-2021-0002.; Upgrade VMware Cloud Foundation according to VMware guidance for affected 4.x and 3.x releases.; Restrict access to ESXi port 427 to trusted management networks only..

Prepared

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-787: Exact CWE lookup

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description · low confidence lookup

Execution behavior lookup

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Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-21974 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
8.8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
2ADP providers
3Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: pocAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: total

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
8.8CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9CISA-ADP

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

8.8High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2021-21974Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CVECVE Program Container
CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
cvssV3_1other:ssvc

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/aVMware ESXi7.0 before ESXi70U1c-17325551, 6.7 before ESXi670-202102401-SG, 6.5 before ESXi650-202102101-SGListed
n/aVMware Cloud Foundation4.x before 4.2 and 3.xListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-787 · source CWE mapping

Out-of-bounds Write

Out-of-bounds Write represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.