CVE-2021-21980

The vSphere Web Client (FLEX/Flash) contains an unauthorized arbitrary file read vulnerability. A malicious actor with network access to port 443 on vCenter Server may exploit this issue to gain access to sensitive information.

Published: 2021-11-24 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2021-21980 is rated Moderate Risk (58.8/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 4.60%, 90th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-21980

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 7.41% 4.60% -2.81%
2 2026-06-12 8.31% 7.41% -0.90%
3 2026-05-25 — 8.31% —

Full EPSS history (70 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-21980

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 3.9 3.6 [email protected]
5.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
 10.0 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-21980

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-21980

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
vmware cloud_foundation 3.0 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:cloud_foundation:3.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_1:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_1b:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_1c:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_1d:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_1e:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_1g:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_2:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_2b:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_2c:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_2d:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_2g:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_3:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_3d:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_3f:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_3k:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_3n:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_3p:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.5 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.5:update_3q:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_1:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_1b:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_2:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_2a:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_2c:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_3:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_3a:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_3b:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_3f:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_3g:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_3j:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_3l:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_3m:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_3n:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware vcenter_server 6.7 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vcenter_server:6.7:update_3o:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-21980

cvelogic Threat Intelligence