Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2024-38813 is a vCenter Server privilege escalation flaw. An attacker with network access and low privileges may be able to gain root by sending a crafted network packet. Because vCenter controls virtualization infrastructure and CISA lists this CVE as known exploited, affected deployments need urgent review.
Executive priority
Treat this as urgent for any affected vCenter environment. Root-level escalation against a virtualization management plane can create broad operational and security impact, and KEV listing means remediation should not wait for routine patch cycles.
Technical view
The issue is mapped to CWE-250 and CWE-273 privilege management weaknesses. CVSS 3.1 is 7.5 with network access, high complexity, low privileges, and no user interaction. The source bundle lists VMware vCenter Server 8.0/7.0 and VMware Cloud Foundation 5.x/4.x as affected.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in organizations running VMware vCenter Server 7.0 or 8.0, or VMware Cloud Foundation 4.x or 5.x. Risk increases where vCenter is reachable from broad internal networks, VPN users, or internet-facing management paths.
Exploitation context
CISA KEV status supports that this vulnerability has been exploited in the wild. The provided sources do not include exploit mechanics, observed campaigns, or indicators of compromise, so validation should focus on asset status, patch state, access paths, and vendor advisories.
Researcher notes
The public bundle confirms root privilege escalation by crafted network packet, but not patch identifiers, exploit details, or affected build ranges. Use vendor advisory data for exact fixed versions and avoid assuming unsupported product variants are affected.
Mitigation direction
- Review Broadcom VMware guidance for fixed versions and supported remediation.
- Prioritize affected vCenter and VMware Cloud Foundation environments listed in the advisory.
- Restrict network access to vCenter management interfaces to trusted administrative paths.
- Audit privileged and low-privileged vCenter accounts for unusual activity.
- Follow CISA KEV remediation timelines where they apply.
Validation and detection
- Inventory vCenter Server and VMware Cloud Foundation versions across all environments.
- Confirm whether affected versions 7.0, 8.0, 4.x, or 5.x are present.
- Check whether vCenter is reachable from untrusted networks or broad user segments.
- Verify remediation status against the Broadcom advisory.
- Review vCenter authentication and privilege changes around relevant exposure windows.
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-250: 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 lookupCWE-273: 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 lookupPrivilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2024-38813 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
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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.
CISA KEV status
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:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.65.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/24968CVE reference
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2024-38813CVE reference · government-resource
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.
Execution with Unnecessary Privileges
Execution with Unnecessary Privileges represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
Improper Check for Dropped Privileges
Improper Check for Dropped Privileges represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.