CVE-2022-21793 is a vulnerability identified in Intel Ethernet 500 Series and 700 Series Controller drivers specifically designed for VMware environments. The flaw arises due to insufficient control flow management within these drivers, which can be exploited by an authenticated user with local access to the affected system. The vulnerability allows the attacker to trigger a denial of service (DoS) condition, effectively disrupting network communication by causing the driver or the associated network interface to become unresponsive or crash. This issue affects Intel Ethernet 500 Series Controller drivers for VMware versions prior to 1.11.4.0 and Intel Ethernet 700 Series Controller drivers for VMware versions prior to 2.1.5.0. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity directly but severely impacts availability, as network connectivity can be interrupted. Exploitation requires local privileges (low privileges but authenticated user) and no user interaction beyond that. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.5 (medium severity), reflecting the moderate impact and the requirement for local authenticated access. There are no known exploits in the wild reported to date, and no specific patches or mitigation links were provided in the source information, though it is implied that upgrading to the fixed driver versions would remediate the issue. This vulnerability is particularly relevant in virtualized environments where these Intel Ethernet controllers are deployed within VMware hypervisors or virtual machines, potentially affecting the stability and availability of network services hosted on such platforms.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-21793 centers on potential network outages or service disruptions in virtualized environments utilizing affected Intel Ethernet controllers within VMware infrastructures. Enterprises relying on VMware virtualization with these specific Intel Ethernet drivers may experience degraded network availability, which could interrupt critical business operations, internal communications, or cloud services. This is especially significant for sectors with high dependency on continuous network uptime such as financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, and public administration. Although the vulnerability does not allow data theft or modification, the denial of service could lead to operational downtime, loss of productivity, and potential cascading effects on dependent systems. Given the requirement for local authenticated access, the risk is higher in environments where multiple users have local access or where attacker lateral movement is possible. In multi-tenant or cloud service provider environments in Europe, this vulnerability could affect service reliability for multiple customers if exploited. However, the absence of known exploits and the medium severity rating suggest that while impactful, the threat is not currently critical but should be addressed promptly to maintain network resilience.

To mitigate CVE-2022-21793, European organizations should prioritize updating the Intel Ethernet 500 Series Controller drivers for VMware to version 1.11.4.0 or later and the Intel Ethernet 700 Series Controller drivers for VMware to version 2.1.5.0 or later. Since no direct patch links were provided, organizations should obtain these updates from official Intel or VMware sources. Additionally, organizations should enforce strict access controls to limit local authenticated access only to trusted personnel, reducing the risk of exploitation. Monitoring and logging local user activities on VMware hosts can help detect suspicious attempts to trigger the vulnerability. Network segmentation and isolation of critical virtual machines can limit the impact of a potential DoS attack. Regular vulnerability scanning and driver version audits within virtualized environments will help identify unpatched systems. Finally, organizations should incorporate this vulnerability into their incident response plans to quickly respond to any signs of network disruption related to this issue.