CVE-2025-41244
Broadcom VMware Aria Operations and VMware Tools Privilege Defined with Unsafe Actions Vulnerability
Broadcom VMware Aria Operations and VMware Tools
VMware Aria Operations and VMware Tools contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability. A malicious local actor with non-administrative privileges having access to a VM with VMware Tools installed and managed by Aria Operations with SDMP enabled may exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges to root on the same VM.
Exploitation status
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
Listed by CISA on 30 October 2025. US federal agencies were required to remediate it by 20 November 2025.
EPSS — exploitation probability
FIRST puts the probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days at 8.4%, which is higher than 94.9% of all scored vulnerabilities. EPSS is a forecast of activity, not a measure of severity, and it is rescored daily.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Frequently asked questions
Is CVE-2025-41244 being exploited by ransomware groups?
No ransomware group in this database is currently recorded as exploiting CVE-2025-41244.
What does CVE-2025-41244 affect?
CVE-2025-41244 affects Broadcom VMware Aria Operations and VMware Tools. VMware Aria Operations and VMware Tools contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability. A malicious local actor with non-administrative privileges having access to a VM with VMware Tools installed and managed by Aria Operations with SDMP enabled may exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges to root on the same VM.
How severe is CVE-2025-41244?
CVE-2025-41244 is rated HIGH with a CVSS base score of 7.8. EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 8.4%, higher than 94.9% of all scored vulnerabilities. It is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, with a federal remediation deadline of 20 November 2025.
How should organisations respond to CVE-2025-41244?
Apply the vendor patch for Broadcom VMware Aria Operations and VMware Tools as the first priority, and treat any internet-facing instance as the most urgent. Because this vulnerability is associated with ransomware activity, also review whether the affected systems were reachable before patching, rather than assuming that patching alone closes the incident.