Actively exploited · Published Jul 30, 2026 · Assigned by vmware

CVE-2026-59310vCenter directory-traversal vulnerability

Critical 9.8 Exploited Ransomware

In plain English

A critical-severity path traversal in Cloud Foundation from VMware. Attackers are actively exploiting it in the wild (listed by CISA on August 18, 2026). It has been used in ransomware campaigns. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 2.6% (higher than 85% of all known vulnerabilities). Ready-made attack tooling exists: public proof-of-concept code. Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)9.8Critical
Exploit odds (30 days)2.6%top 14.8% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildYesCISA KEV since Aug 18, 2026
Attack tooling1Public PoC

CISA guidance

Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.

Federal agencies must remediate by Aug 21, 2026.

Official description

VMware vCenter contains a directory traversal vulnerability in the Syslog server. A malicious actor with network access to vCenter may exploit this issue to execute arbitrary code.

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1.x.x9.0.x.x5.x
VMware vSphere Foundation 9.1.x.x9.0.x.x
VMware vCenter 9.1.x.x – before 9.1.0.03009.0.x.x – before 9.0.2.01008.0 – before 8.0 U3k
VMware Telco Cloud Infrastructure 3.0
VMware Telco Cloud Platform 5.1.x5.0.x4.x3.0

Weakness: CWE-22 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References