VulnerabilityPublished 30 Jul 2026Updated 28 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-41709: VMware ESX contains an insufficient logging vulnerability

Affects Broadcom VMware ESXSource GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-41709· Low 2.7

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

Data as of 28 Oct 2026, 22:27 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

2.7Low

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

KEV deadline: 11 Nov 2026 US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else. Other KEV due dates
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
Weaponised: 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 26 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.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, 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.

ghsa-vpqj-56x2-gp9p

What to do

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

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 has an insufficient logging vulnerability (CVE-2026-41709) that allows a malicious administrator to perform certain operations without those actions being logged. This issue impacts the integrity of audit trails but does not affect confidentiality or availability.

Impact

The vulnerability impacts the integrity of VMware ESX logging mechanisms by allowing certain administrative actions to go unlogged. This could reduce the effectiveness of audit trails and complicate incident response or forensic analysis. There is no impact on confidentiality or availability reported.

Mitigation

Until a fix is available, monitoring administrative actions through alternative means or enhanced auditing may help mitigate risk.

Summary

CVE-2026-41709 describes an insufficient logging vulnerability in VMware ESX. A malicious administrator could exploit this flaw to carry out specific operations that are not recorded in the system logs, potentially hindering forensic investigations and accountability. The vulnerability has a low CVSS score of 2.7, reflecting limited impact primarily on integrity due to incomplete logging. There is no indication of public exploit code or active exploitation in the wild.

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

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 28 Oct 2026, 22:27 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-778

Technical details

References

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