CVE-2026-22721 [Medium] | Privilege Escalation in Aria Operations

VMware Aria Operations contains a privilege escalation vulnerability. A malicious actor with privileges in vCenter to access Aria Operations may leverage this vulnerability to obtain administrative access in VMware Aria Operations. To remediate CVE-2026-22721, apply the patches listed in the 'Fixed Version' column of the 'Response Matrix' found in VMSA-2026-0001 https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/36947 .

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-03-21	0.05%	0.03%	-0.03%
2	2026-02-26	—	0.05%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-03-21

0.05%

0.03%

-0.03%

2026-02-26

—

0.05%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
6.2	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L` 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:H) Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work. Privileges required (PR:H) They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off. 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:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:L) Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.	0.7	5.5	[email protected]
7.2	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` 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:H) They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off. 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:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.2	5.9	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

6.2

3.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L 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:H): Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H): They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:L): Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.

0.7

5.5

[email protected]

7.2

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 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:H): They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.2

5.9

[email protected]

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-22721

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
vmware	aria_operations	>= 8.0, < 8.18.6	cpe:2.3:a:vmware:aria_operations::::::::
vmware	cloud_foundation	>= 4.0, < 5.2.3	cpe:2.3:a:vmware:cloud_foundation::::::::
vmware	cloud_foundation	>= 9.0, < 9.0.2.0	cpe:2.3:a:vmware:cloud_foundation::::::::
vmware	telco_cloud_infrastructure	>= 2.2, <= 3.0	cpe:2.3:a:vmware:telco_cloud_infrastructure::::::::
vmware	telco_cloud_platform	>= 4.0, <= 5.1	cpe:2.3:a:vmware:telco_cloud_platform::::::::

References for CVE-2026-22721

URL	Tags
https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/36947	Patch Vendor Advisory
https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/aria/aria-operations/8-18/vmware-aria-operations-8186-release-notes.html	Release Notes

URL

CVE-2026-22721 | VMware Aria Operations privilege escalation vulnerability

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-22721

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-22721

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-22721

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-22721

References for CVE-2026-22721