VulnerabilityPublished 30 Jul 2026Updated 29 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-41709: VMware ESX · Insufficient Logging

Affects VMware ESXSource CVE Database V5

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Exploited in the wild · KEV due 11 Nov 2026 · fixed in 5.2.4 : patch VMware ESX now.

Data as of 29 Oct 2026, 07:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

2.7Low

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

CVSS scores by source
CNA (vmware)	CVSS 3.1	2.7

KEV deadline: 11 Nov 2026 US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else. Other KEV due dates
EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 22% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 5.2.4, ESXi80U3j-25429389, ESXi-9.1.0.0-25370933 +1

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

t = 0 is the CVE’s publication on cve.org

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 30 Jul 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: evidence found.
Listed in CISA KEV 90 days after disclosure
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

CVE ID reserved
by VMware by Broadcom
22 Apr 202606:21 UTC, 99 days before disclosure
CVE published
on cve.org
30 Jul 202612:45 UTC, t = 0
In Threat Radar
record ingested
30 Jul 202613:22 UTC, 38 minutes after disclosure
Added to CISA KEV (opens in a new tab)
exploitation confirmed
28 Oct 2026, 90 days after disclosure
KEV remediation due
US federal deadline
11 Nov 2026, 104 days after disclosure

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), CISA KEV (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 29 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade ESX to ESXi80U3j-25429389, ESXi-9.1.0.0-25370933 or ESXi-9.0.2.0100-25595025; Cloud Foundation to 5.2.4.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
VMwareCloud Foundation	Affected >=5.x <5.2.4 =9.1.x.x =9.0.x.x	Fixed in 5.2.4
VMwarevSphere Foundation	Affected =9.1.x.x =9.0.x.x	Fixed in–
VMwareESX	Affected =9.1.x.x =9.0.x.x =8.0	Fixed in ESXi80U3j-25429389 ESXi-9.1.0.0-25370933 ESXi-9.0.2.0100-25595025
VMwareTelco Cloud Platform	Affected =>=5.1.0 <5.2.0 =>=5.0.0 <5.1.0	Fixed in–

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.

Description

VMware ESX contains an insufficient logging vulnerability. A malicious administrator could exploit this issue to perform certain operations without them being logged.

Reports on CVE-2026-41709

Chinese Hackers Quietly Used Low-Severity ESXi Logging Flaw as Zero-DaySecurityWeek2026-10-29

Impact

The impact is limited to integrity as certain administrator actions may not be logged, which could reduce the effectiveness of auditing and monitoring. There is no direct confidentiality or availability impact. The vulnerability requires high privileges (administrator) to exploit and does not involve user interaction.

Mitigation

If you cannot patch yet, organizations should monitor administrative activities closely and consider compensating controls to detect unauthorized or suspicious operations despite the logging gaps.

Summary

This vulnerability (CVE-2026-41709) in VMware Cloud Foundation is classified as CWE-778 (Insufficient Logging). It allows a malicious administrator to carry out specific operations without generating corresponding log entries, potentially hindering audit and forensic activities. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 2.7, reflecting low severity, with the impact limited to integrity due to incomplete logging. The vulnerability affects versions 5.x, 9.0.x.x, and 9.1.x.x of VMware Cloud Foundation.

CWE-778Insufficient Logging (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumOWASP Top 10 A09:2025: Security Logging & Alerting Failures (opens in a new tab)
When a security-critical event occurs, the product either does not record the event or omits important details about the event when logging it.
Architecture and Design
Use a centralized logging mechanism that supports multiple levels of detail.
Implementation
Ensure that all security-related successes and failures can be logged. When storing data in the cloud (e.g., AWS S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to enable and capture detailed logging information.
Operation
Be sure to set the level of logging appropriately in a production environment. Sufficient data should be logged to enable system administrators to detect attacks, diagnose errors, and recover from attacks.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Application Logging Vocabulary (opens in a new tab)
Logging (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V7.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.1 (opens in a new tab)
V7.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

Timeline

What to do

Affected software

Description

Reports on CVE-2026-41709

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 6 Aug 2026, 17:46 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-778

Technical details

References

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