VMware · ESXi and Workstation
CVE-2025-22224
VMware ESXi and Workstation TOCTOU Race Condition Vulnerability
What it is
VMware ESXi, and Workstation contain a TOCTOU (Time-of-Check Time-of-Use) vulnerability that leads to an out-of-bounds write. A malicious actor with local administrative privileges on a virtual machine may exploit this issue to execute code as the virtual machine's VMX process running on the host.
CISA: VMware ESXi and Workstation contain a time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability that leads to an out-of-bounds write. Successful exploitation enables an attacker with local administrative privileges on a virtual machine to execute code as the virtual machine's VMX process running on the host.
What to do
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Deadline for US federal agencies: March 25, 2025
More exploited flaws from VMware
| Added | Vulnerability | Product | Severity | Attack chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 4, 2025 | Arbitrary Write | ESXi | High 8.2 | 1.0% |
| Mar 4, 2025 | Information Disclosure | ESXi, Workstation, and Fusion | High 7.1 | 1.6% |
| Nov 20, 2024 | Heap-Based Buffer Overflow | vCenter Server | Critical 9.8 | 55% |
| Nov 20, 2024 | Privilege Escalation | vCenter Server | High 7.5 | 17% |
| Jul 30, 2024 | Authentication Bypass | ESXi | Medium 6.8 | 27% |
| Jul 17, 2024 | Incorrect Default File Permissions Vulnerability | vCenter Server | Medium 6.5 | 13% |
| Jan 22, 2024 | Out-of-Bounds Write | vCenter Server | Critical 9.8 | 99.2% |
| Jun 23, 2023 | Authentication Bypass | Tools | Low 3.9 | 14% |
Sources: Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (CISA, public domain), CVE records (cve.org) and EPSS (FIRST). The chance of attacks is the EPSS estimate that someone will try to exploit the flaw in the next 30 days.