{
  "crds_version": "0.1",
  "kind": "base",
  "id": "crds:cve-2023-20867",
  "revision": 1,
  "title": "VMware Tools — the host stops proving who it is",
  "summary": "A fully compromised ESXi host can make VMware Tools stop authenticating the operations it sends into a guest, which then reach that guest's data and integrity. Root on the host is the price of entry.",
  "source_type": "cve",
  "severity": "low",
  "cvss": {
    "score": 3.9,
    "vector": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N",
    "version": "3.1"
  },
  "epss": 0.1353,
  "exploitation": {
    "known_exploited": true,
    "exploit_available": false,
    "attack_complexity": "high",
    "kev_added": "2023-06-23",
    "prerequisites": "The attacker must already hold root on the ESXi host."
  },
  "remediation": {
    "patch_available": true
  },
  "mitre_attack": [
    "T1078"
  ],
  "kill_chain": "lateral_movement",
  "recommended_action": "Update VMware Tools to the fixed release, and treat a compromised hypervisor as a compromised estate — every guest on it sits downstream of this one.",
  "confidence": "high",
  "provenance": [
    {
      "fields": [
        "cvss",
        "exploitation.attack_complexity",
        "exploitation.exploit_available",
        "references",
        "published_at"
      ],
      "source": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20867",
      "retrieved_at": "2026-09-24T12:52:19.575Z",
      "confidence": "high",
      "extractor": "scrty-crds-pipeline/0.1"
    },
    {
      "fields": [
        "exploitation.known_exploited",
        "exploitation.kev_added"
      ],
      "source": "https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog",
      "retrieved_at": "2026-09-24T12:52:19.575Z",
      "confidence": "high",
      "extractor": "scrty-crds-pipeline/0.1"
    },
    {
      "fields": [
        "epss"
      ],
      "source": "https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2023-20867",
      "retrieved_at": "2026-09-24T12:52:19.575Z",
      "confidence": "high",
      "extractor": "scrty-crds-pipeline/0.1"
    },
    {
      "fields": [
        "title",
        "summary",
        "severity",
        "remediation",
        "mitre_attack",
        "kill_chain",
        "recommended_action",
        "confidence",
        "tags",
        "exploitation.prerequisites"
      ],
      "source": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20867",
      "retrieved_at": "2026-09-24T12:52:19.575Z",
      "confidence": "high",
      "extractor": "claude-code"
    }
  ],
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "cve",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20867",
      "label": "NVD record"
    },
    {
      "type": "cisa",
      "url": "https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog",
      "label": "CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog"
    },
    {
      "type": "vendor_advisory",
      "url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/10/16/11"
    },
    {
      "type": "vendor_advisory",
      "url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/10/16/2"
    },
    {
      "type": "vendor_advisory",
      "url": "https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2023-0013.html"
    }
  ],
  "published_at": "2023-06-13T17:15:14.070Z",
  "issued_at": "2026-09-24T12:52:19.575Z",
  "tags": [
    "vmware",
    "vmware-tools",
    "esxi",
    "virtualization",
    "lateral-movement",
    "kev"
  ]
}