Security Digest · Vulnerability record · Known exploited
CVE-2025-22224: VMware ESXi and Workstation TOCTOU Race Condition Vulnerability
Exploited in the wild (CISA KEV). VMware ESXi, and Workstation contain a TOCTOU (Time-of-Check Time-of-Use) vulnerability that leads to an out-of-bounds write.
CISA KEV · added 2025-03-04 CVSS 9.3 Critical EPSS 1.6% · p75
Should you act?
Exploited: patch now if you run it
CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.
- Yes, if you run VMware ESXi and Workstation. CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2025-03-04, which means there is reliable evidence of exploitation in the wild. US federal agencies must remediate by 2025-03-25; treat that as the outer limit, not the target.
- EPSS 1.6%, percentile 75: FIRST’s model estimates a 1.6% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 75% of all scored CVEs (moderate). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
- Needs local access needed. Lower urgency for most teams unless an attacker could already run code on the machine.
What it is
VMware ESXi, and Workstation contain a TOCTOU (Time-of-Check Time-of-Use) vulnerability that leads to an out-of-bounds write. A malicious actor with local administrative privileges on a virtual machine may exploit this issue to execute code as the virtual machine's VMX process running on the host.
CISA’s summary
VMware ESXi and Workstation contain a time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability that leads to an out-of-bounds write. Successful exploitation enables an attacker with local administrative privileges on a virtual machine to execute code as the virtual machine's VMX process running on the host.
Weakness type: CWE-367.
Product: VMware ESXi and Workstation · Assigned by: vmware · Published: 2025-03-04
Affected and fixed versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions (per CVE record) |
|---|---|---|
| VMware | ESXi | 8.0 < ESXi80U3d-24585383, 8.0 < ESXi80U2d-24585300, 7.0 < ESXi70U3s-24585291 |
| VMware | Workstation | 17.x < 17.6.3 |
| VMware | VMware Cloud Foundation | 5.x, 4.5.x |
| VMware | Telco Cloud Platform | 5.x, 4.x, 3.x, 2.x |
| VMware | Telco Cloud Infrastructure | 3.x, 2.x |
Severity scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| vmware | 3.1 | 9.3 Critical | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- Attack vector: local access needed
- Attack complexity: low
- Privileges required: none (no login)
- User interaction: none
- Scope: changed (can affect other components)
CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.
Exploitation and urgency
- CISA KEV: added 2025-03-04; federal due date 2025-03-25. Known ransomware use: Unknown.
- CISA required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
- CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
- FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 1.56% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 75.
Timeline
- — Added to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
- — CVE record published by vmware
- — CISA remediation deadline for US federal agencies
- — CVE record last updated
Sources and references
Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.
Vendor and project advisories, patches
- Listed in CISA KEV notes (support.broadcom.com) support.broadcom.com
Vulnerability records
- CVE.org record CVE-2025-22224 cve.org
- NVD entry CVE-2025-22224 nvd.nist.gov
Government
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