CVE-2021-21991
The vCenter Server contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability due to the way it handles...
The vCenter Server contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability due to the way it handles session tokens. A malicious actor with non-administrative user access on vCenter Server host may exploit this issue to escalate privileges to Administrator on the vSphere Client (HTML5) or vCenter Server vSphere Web Client (FLEX/Flash).
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
The vCenter Server contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability due to the way it handles session tokens. A malicious actor with non-administrative user access on vCenter Server host may exploit this issue to escalate privileges to Administrator on the vSphere Client (HTML5) or vCenter Server vSphere Web Client (FLEX/Flash).
- Record
CVE-2021-21991- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 4.6 Medium
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
The vCenter Server contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability due to the way it handles session tokens. A malicious actor with non-administrative user access on vCenter Server host may exploit this issue to escalate privileges to Administrator on the vSphere Client (HTML5) or vCenter Server vSphere Web Client (FLEX/Flash).
- Record
CVE-2021-21991- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-9162 No score
The vCenter Server contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability due to the way it handles session tokens. A malicious actor with non-administrative user access on vCenter Server host may exploit this issue to escalate privileges to Administrator on the vSphere Client (HTML5) or vCenter Server vSphere Web Client (FLEX/Flash).
- Record
EUVD-2021-9162- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-h338-w3fh-545j
The vCenter Server contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability due to the way it handles...
The vCenter Server contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability due to the way it handles session tokens. A malicious actor with non-administrative user access on vCenter Server host may exploit this issue to escalate privileges to Administrator on the vSphere Client (HTML5) or vCenter Server vSphere Web Client (FLEX/Flash).
- Record
GHSA-h338-w3fh-545j- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-269
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-21991 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Vmware Vcenter Server, published September 22, 2021. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.32%, the 24th percentile. No source names a fixed version.