📄 Description (English)
VMware vCenter Server Improper Access Control — Rhttproxy as used in vCenter Server contains a vulnerability due to improper implementation of URI normalization.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
VMware vCenter Server contains a critical improper access control vulnerability (CVSS 9.0) in the Rhttproxy component due to flawed URI normalization. This allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass authentication and gain unauthorized access to vCenter Server instances. With public exploits available, this poses an immediate threat to organizations managing virtualized infrastructure across Saudi Arabia.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 20, 2026 01:17
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
Critical impact on Saudi financial institutions (SAMA-regulated banks), government entities (NCA oversight), healthcare providers (MOH), energy sector (ARAMCO, SEC), and telecommunications (STC, Mobily). vCenter Server is widely deployed for managing critical virtualized infrastructure. Unauthorized access enables data theft, ransomware deployment, and operational disruption. Government and critical infrastructure sectors face highest risk due to regulatory compliance requirements and operational continuity dependencies.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking and Financial Services
Government and Public Administration
Healthcare
Energy and Utilities
Telecommunications
Critical Infrastructure
Large Enterprise IT Operations
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
9.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Identify all vCenter Server instances in your environment and document versions
2. Restrict network access to vCenter Server management interfaces (ports 443, 5480) to authorized administrative networks only
3. Enable enhanced logging and monitoring for authentication attempts and URI-based access patterns
4. Review access logs for suspicious authentication bypass attempts or unusual URI patterns
PATCHING:
1. Apply VMware security patches immediately:
- vCenter Server 7.0: Update to 7.0 U2c or later
- vCenter Server 6.7: Update to 6.7 U3n or later
- vCenter Server 6.5: Update to 6.5 U3o or later
2. Test patches in non-production environment first
3. Schedule patching during maintenance windows with minimal operational impact
COMPENSATING CONTROLS (if patching delayed):
1. Implement WAF/reverse proxy rules to normalize and validate URI requests
2. Deploy network segmentation isolating vCenter from untrusted networks
3. Enforce multi-factor authentication for all vCenter administrative access
4. Implement IP whitelisting for vCenter management access
DETECTION:
1. Monitor for HTTP requests with unusual URI encoding (double encoding, Unicode escapes)
2. Alert on authentication bypass attempts or successful logins from unexpected sources
3. Track access to /ui/ and /mob/ endpoints without proper authentication
4. Implement IDS/IPS signatures for CVE-2021-22017 exploitation patterns
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. حدد جميع خوادم vCenter في بيئتك وتوثيق الإصدارات
2. قيد الوصول إلى واجهات إدارة vCenter (المنافذ 443، 5480) إلى الشبكات الإدارية المصرح بها فقط
3. فعّل السجلات المحسّنة والمراقبة لمحاولات المصادقة وأنماط الوصول القائمة على URI
4. راجع سجلات الوصول للبحث عن محاولات تجاوز مصادقة مريبة أو أنماط URI غير عادية
تطبيق التصحيحات:
1. طبّق تصحيحات أمان VMware على الفور:
- vCenter Server 7.0: التحديث إلى 7.0 U2c أو أحدث
- vCenter Server 6.7: التحديث إلى 6.7 U3n أو أحدث
- vCenter Server 6.5: التحديث إلى 6.5 U3o أو أحدث
2. اختبر التصحيحات في بيئة غير الإنتاج أولاً
3. جدول التصحيح خلال نوافذ الصيانة بأقل تأثير تشغيلي
الضوابط البديلة (إذا تأخر التصحيح):
1. طبّق قواعد WAF/reverse proxy لتطبيع والتحقق من صحة طلبات URI
2. نشّر تقسيم الشبكة معزولاً vCenter عن الشبكات غير الموثوقة
3. فرض المصادقة متعددة العوامل لجميع وصول إدارة vCenter
4. طبّق القائمة البيضاء للعناوين لوصول إدارة vCenter
الكشف:
1. راقب طلبات HTTP بترميز URI غير عادي (ترميز مزدوج، هروب Unicode)
2. تنبيه على محاولات تجاوز المصادقة أو عمليات تسجيل دخول ناجحة من مصادر غير متوقعة
3. تتبع الوصول إلى نقاط نهاية /ui/ و /mob/ بدون مصادقة مناسبة
4. طبّق توقيعات IDS/IPS لأنماط استغلال CVE-2021-22017
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
5.1.1 - Access Control Policy
5.1.2 - User Registration and De-registration
5.2.1 - User Access Rights
5.2.2 - Privileged Access Rights
5.3.1 - Password Management
5.4.1 - Access Control Review
🔵 SAMA CSF
ID.AC-1 - Identities and credentials are issued, managed, verified, retired and revoked
ID.AC-2 - Physical and logical assets are managed and inventoried
PR.AC-1 - Identities and credentials are managed for authorized devices and users
PR.AC-2 - Physical access to assets is managed and monitored
PR.AC-3 - Remote access is managed
PR.AC-4 - Access permissions and authorizations are managed
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.5.1.1 - Policies for information security
A.6.1.1 - Information security roles and responsibilities
A.8.1.1 - Inventory of assets
A.9.1.1 - Access control policy
A.9.2.1 - User registration and de-registration
A.9.2.2 - User access provisioning
A.9.2.3 - Management of privileged access rights
A.9.2.4 - Management of secret authentication information
A.9.2.5 - Access rights review
A.9.4.1 - Restriction of access to information
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0
Requirement 2.1 - Default security parameters
Requirement 7 - Restrict access to data by business need to know
Requirement 8 - Identify and authenticate access to network resources
🔗 References & Sources 0
No references.
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
VMware:vCenter Server