Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-22977 affects VMware Tools for Windows in guest virtual machines. A local non-admin Windows user could abuse XML processing to cause a denial of service or expose unintended information. This is not described as remotely exploitable in the provided sources.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority virtualization hygiene issue, especially on shared Windows VMs or systems handling sensitive data. It requires local guest access, so prioritize environments with many users or privileged workloads.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-611 XXE in VMware Tools for Windows 12.0.0, 11.x.y, and 10.x.y. CVSS 7.1 reflects local access, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, high confidentiality impact, and high availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely where Windows guest VMs run affected VMware Tools versions and allow local user logon. Internet exposure is not indicated by the source bundle.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV status or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation requires non-administrative local privileges inside the Windows guest OS where VMware Tools is installed.
Researcher notes
The source bundle identifies XXE but does not include detailed parser paths, proof-of-concept material, or fixed-version text. Avoid assuming exploitability beyond local low-privilege guest access and the stated DoS or information disclosure impacts.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Windows guest VMs running VMware Tools.
- Prioritize affected 12.0.0, 11.x.y, and 10.x.y installations.
- Check VMware advisory VMSA-2022-0015 for vendor remediation guidance.
- Apply vendor-approved VMware Tools updates where applicable.
- Limit unnecessary local user access to Windows guest VMs.
Validation and detection
- Confirm VMware Tools version on Windows guest systems.
- Compare versions against the affected ranges in CVE-2022-22977.
- Review VMware advisory VMSA-2022-0015 for fixed-version guidance.
- Verify updated systems no longer report affected VMware Tools versions.
- Check whether local user access exists on high-value guest VMs.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-611: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-22977 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
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.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H1.85.2CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.1HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2022-0015.htmlCVE reference, vmware · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference
Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.