CVE-2022-31699 is a heap overflow vulnerability identified in VMware ESXi and VMware Cloud Foundation platforms. The flaw exists within a sandboxed process in the ESXi hypervisor environment, which is a widely used virtualization platform in enterprise data centers. Specifically, this vulnerability allows a malicious local actor with restricted privileges to trigger a heap overflow condition. Heap overflows occur when a program writes more data to a heap-allocated buffer than it can hold, potentially leading to memory corruption. In this case, the vulnerability can be exploited to achieve partial information disclosure, meaning that an attacker could read sensitive data from memory that should otherwise be inaccessible. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of VMware ESXi, including 7.0 prior to ESXi70U3si-20841705, 6.7 prior to ESXi670-202210101-SG, and 6.5 prior to ESXi650-202210101-SG, as well as VMware Cloud Foundation versions 3.x and 4.x. Exploitation requires local access with limited privileges and does not require user interaction. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 3.3, indicating a low severity level, primarily due to the limited scope of impact (confidentiality only), the need for local access, and the absence of integrity or availability impact. No known exploits have been reported in the wild to date. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), which is a common class of memory corruption bugs. While the vulnerability does not allow privilege escalation or remote code execution, the partial information disclosure could potentially aid attackers in further attacks if combined with other vulnerabilities or misconfigurations. Given the nature of VMware ESXi as a hypervisor, any compromise or information leakage could have downstream effects on virtual machines and hosted workloads if chained with other exploits.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-31699 is primarily related to confidentiality risks within virtualized environments running VMware ESXi or VMware Cloud Foundation. Since the vulnerability allows partial information disclosure by a local attacker with restricted privileges, it could potentially expose sensitive data residing in the hypervisor memory space. This is particularly concerning for organizations that host critical workloads, sensitive data, or regulated information on VMware infrastructure. Although the vulnerability does not directly enable privilege escalation or remote exploitation, an insider threat or compromised low-privilege user could leverage this flaw to gain intelligence that facilitates further attacks. In sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and critical infrastructure—where VMware virtualization is prevalent—this could lead to exposure of confidential information or intellectual property. Additionally, the presence of this vulnerability may affect compliance with data protection regulations like GDPR if sensitive personal data is involved. However, the low CVSS score and lack of known exploits suggest the immediate risk is limited. The vulnerability’s requirement for local access restricts its impact mainly to environments where multiple users or processes have access to the hypervisor host. Organizations with strict access controls and monitoring may face lower risk, whereas those with less stringent controls could be more vulnerable.

1. Apply VMware patches and updates promptly: Although no direct patch links are provided in the information, VMware regularly releases security updates addressing such vulnerabilities. Organizations should ensure their ESXi and Cloud Foundation deployments are updated to versions beyond those affected (e.g., ESXi70U3si-20841705 or later). 2. Restrict local access: Limit the number of users and processes with local access to the ESXi host. Use role-based access controls (RBAC) and enforce the principle of least privilege to minimize the risk of exploitation by local actors. 3. Harden the hypervisor environment: Disable or restrict unnecessary services and interfaces on ESXi hosts to reduce the attack surface. 4. Monitor and audit access logs: Implement continuous monitoring and logging of local access attempts and unusual activities on ESXi hosts to detect potential exploitation attempts early. 5. Network segmentation: Isolate management networks and hypervisor hosts from general user networks to prevent unauthorized local access. 6. Use security tools capable of detecting heap overflow attempts or anomalous memory access patterns within the hypervisor environment. 7. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focusing on hypervisor security to identify and remediate potential weaknesses. 8. Educate administrators and users about the risks of local privilege misuse and enforce strict operational security policies around hypervisor management.