📄 Description (English)
VMware Server Side Request Forgery in vRealize Operations Manager API — Server Side Request Forgery (SSRF) in vRealize Operations Manager API prior to 8.4 may allow a malicious actor with network access to the vRealize Operations Manager API to perform a SSRF attack to steal administrative credentials.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2021-21975 is a critical Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in VMware vRealize Operations Manager API (versions prior to 8.4) with a CVSS score of 9.0. An attacker with network access can exploit this vulnerability to steal administrative credentials, potentially leading to complete compromise of infrastructure monitoring systems. Exploitation is straightforward with publicly available exploits, making immediate patching essential for all affected deployments.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 20, 2026 01:19
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability poses severe risk to Saudi organizations using vRealize Operations Manager for infrastructure monitoring. Critical impact sectors include: (1) Banking & Financial Services (SAMA-regulated institutions) — vRealize is commonly used for monitoring critical banking infrastructure; (2) Government & Defense (NCA oversight) — federal agencies rely on vRealize for IT operations; (3) Energy Sector (Saudi Aramco, SABIC) — critical infrastructure monitoring systems; (4) Telecommunications (STC, Mobily) — network operations centers; (5) Healthcare (MOH facilities) — hospital IT infrastructure. Credential theft could enable lateral movement across entire enterprise networks and compromise sensitive operational data.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking & Financial Services
Government & Defense
Energy & Utilities
Telecommunications
Healthcare
Manufacturing
Transportation & Logistics
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1190 - Exploit Public-Facing Application
T1021 - Remote Services
T1589 - Gather Victim Identity Information
T1040 - Network Sniffing
T1557 - Adversary-in-the-Middle
T1111 - Multi-Stage Channels
T1570 - Lateral Tool Transfer
T1021.001 - Remote Services: Remote Desktop Protocol
T1021.004 - Remote Services: SSH
T1078 - Valid Accounts
T1078.002 - Valid Accounts: Domain Accounts
T1087 - Account Discovery
T1087.001 - Account Discovery: Local Account
T1087.002 - Account Discovery: Domain Account
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
9.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Identify all vRealize Operations Manager instances in your environment and verify their version numbers
2. Restrict network access to vRealize Operations Manager API endpoints using firewall rules — limit to authorized administrative networks only
3. Implement network segmentation to isolate vRealize from untrusted networks
4. Review API access logs for suspicious SSRF patterns (requests to internal IP ranges, localhost, metadata services)
5. Reset all administrative credentials used by vRealize Operations Manager
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Upgrade vRealize Operations Manager to version 8.4 or later immediately
2. Apply security patches in a controlled manner: test in non-production environment first, then deploy to production during maintenance window
3. Verify patch installation by confirming version number post-upgrade
COMPENSATING CONTROLS (if immediate patching not possible):
1. Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block SSRF payloads targeting internal IP ranges (10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16, 169.254.0.0/16)
2. Implement strict egress filtering on vRealize server to prevent outbound connections to internal networks
3. Use API gateway with request validation to block malicious SSRF patterns
4. Enable multi-factor authentication for all vRealize administrative accounts
DETECTION RULES:
1. Monitor for HTTP requests to vRealize API endpoints containing parameters with internal IP addresses or localhost references
2. Alert on API requests with User-Agent patterns typical of SSRF tools
3. Track failed authentication attempts followed by successful credential usage from different source IPs
4. Monitor outbound connections from vRealize server to internal network ranges
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. حدد جميع مثيلات vRealize Operations Manager في بيئتك وتحقق من أرقام إصداراتها
2. قيد الوصول الشبكي إلى نقاط نهاية واجهة برمجة تطبيقات vRealize باستخدام قواعد جدار الحماية — حصر الوصول على الشبكات الإدارية المصرح بها فقط
3. طبق تقسيم الشبكة لعزل vRealize عن الشبكات غير الموثوقة
4. راجع سجلات وصول واجهة برمجة التطبيقات للأنماط المريبة (طلبات إلى نطاقات IP داخلية، localhost، خدمات البيانات الوصفية)
5. أعد تعيين جميع بيانات اعتماد المسؤول المستخدمة بواسطة vRealize Operations Manager
إرشادات التصحيح:
1. ترقية vRealize Operations Manager إلى الإصدار 8.4 أو أحدث فوراً
2. تطبيق تصحيحات الأمان بطريقة منضبطة: اختبر في بيئة غير الإنتاج أولاً، ثم انشر إلى الإنتاج أثناء نافذة الصيانة
3. تحقق من تثبيت التصحيح بتأكيد رقم الإصدار بعد الترقية
الضوابط البديلة (إذا لم يكن التصحيح الفوري ممكناً):
1. نشر قواعد جدار تطبيقات الويب (WAF) لحجب حمولات SSRF التي تستهدف نطاقات IP الداخلية
2. طبق تصفية الخروج الصارمة على خادم vRealize لمنع الاتصالات الصادرة إلى الشبكات الداخلية
3. استخدم بوابة واجهة برمجة التطبيقات مع التحقق من الطلبات لحجب أنماط SSRF الضارة
4. فعّل المصادقة متعددة العوامل لجميع حسابات إدارة vRealize
قواعد الكشف:
1. راقب طلبات HTTP إلى نقاط نهاية واجهة برمجة تطبيقات vRealize التي تحتوي على معاملات بعناوين IP داخلية أو مراجع localhost
2. تنبيه على طلبات واجهة برمجة التطبيقات مع أنماط User-Agent النموذجية لأدوات SSRF
3. تتبع محاولات المصادقة الفاشلة متبوعة باستخدام بيانات اعتماد ناجحة من عناوين IP مصدر مختلفة
4. راقب الاتصالات الصادرة من خادم vRealize إلى نطاقات الشبكة الداخلية
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
A.5.1.1 - Information Security Policies and Procedures
A.6.1.1 - Access Control Policy
A.6.2.1 - User Registration and De-registration
A.8.2.1 - Classification of Information
A.8.2.3 - Handling of Assets
A.12.2.1 - Controls Against Malware
A.12.4.1 - Event Logging
A.12.4.3 - Administrator and Operator Logs
A.13.1.1 - Network Security Perimeter
A.13.1.3 - Segregation of Networks
🔵 SAMA CSF
Governance & Risk Management - GRM-01: Information Security Governance
Governance & Risk Management - GRM-02: Risk Assessment and Management
Protection & Resilience - PR-01: Access Control
Protection & Resilience - PR-02: Cryptography
Protection & Resilience - PR-03: Data Protection
Detection & Response - DR-01: Security Monitoring and Logging
Detection & Response - DR-02: Incident Management
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
5.1 - Policies for information security
5.15 - Access control
5.16 - Identity management
5.23 - Information security for supplier relationships
6.5 - Control of changes
7.4 - Communication
8.1 - Operational planning and control
8.2 - Supply chain relationships
8.3 - Information and communication technology
8.32 - Change management
8.33 - Test information and communication technology changes
8.34 - Protection of information systems
8.35 - Development and support processes and activities
8.36 - Management of technical vulnerabilities
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0
Requirement 1 - Install and maintain a firewall configuration
Requirement 2 - Do not use vendor-supplied defaults
Requirement 6 - Develop and maintain secure systems and applications
Requirement 6.2 - Ensure security patches are installed
Requirement 7 - Restrict access to data by business need
Requirement 8 - Identify and authenticate access
Requirement 10 - Track and monitor access to network resources
Requirement 11 - Test security systems regularly
🔗 References & Sources 0
No references.
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
VMware:vRealize Operations Manager API