Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
-
AccessObtain valid low-privilege Avi platform credentials
-
DeliveryAccess management interface over network
-
ExploitCraft privilege escalation request exploiting CWE-269 flaw
-
ExecutionGain elevated execution context
-
ImpactExecute arbitrary remote code on load balancer host
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Least privilege enforcement
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires possession of a valid low-privilege authenticated account on the VMware Avi Load Balancer platform, per the CVSS PR:L metric. Network-level access to the management or API interface is necessary (AV:N). No user interaction from a third party is required (UI:N), and no special non-default configuration is indicated in available data. Factors that limit exploitation: unauthenticated external attackers cannot exploit this directly; organizations enforcing MFA, restricting management-interface network exposure, and auditing account provisioning materially reduce the realistic attacker population. The specific internal feature, API endpoint, or configuration path that exposes the privilege boundary is not disclosed in public advisories. |
| Impact | The CVSS 8.8 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) places this in the high-severity tier: network-reachable, no complexity barrier, no user interaction, and full system compromise upon success. Contrasting signals materially temper urgency: EPSS of 0.39% sits at the 31st percentile, strongly suggesting no automated or widespread exploitation campaign has emerged, and CISA KEV absence corroborates this. The PR:L requirement - a valid, low-privilege account - is the primary real-world gating factor; environments with strict credential hygiene, MFA enforcement, and management-interface network segmentation face substantially reduced exposure. The extremely broad affected version range (22.1.1 through 32.1.1) increases organizational footprint risk, as many deployments may be running unsupported or long-unpatched versions. Overall: patch promptly but this is not an emergency requiring weekend response absent specific threat intelligence of targeting. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker holding a valid low-privilege account - obtained through credential stuffing, phishing, or insider access - connects to the Avi Load Balancer management interface over the network and submits crafted API or management-plane requests that exploit the improper privilege management flaw. With escalated privileges, the attacker executes arbitrary code on the load balancer host, gaining a foothold from which they could manipulate traffic routing, intercept application data, or pivot toward backend infrastructure. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, though the low attack complexity rating implies the escalation path is straightforward once credentials are in hand. |
Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.
Alert meAnalysisAIv2 – Aug 20, 2026
Privilege escalation in VMware Avi Load Balancer exposes authenticated, network-accessible users to remote code execution across a wide version range spanning 22.1.x through 32.1.x. The CVSS 8.8 rating reflects low-complexity, low-privilege network exploitation yielding full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on affected systems. No public exploit code has been identified and the vulnerability is absent from CISA KEV; EPSS at 0.39% (31st percentile) confirms limited active exploitation pressure at time of analysis.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
Privilege escalation leading to remote code execution in VMware (Broadcom) Avi Load Balancer allows an authenticated user with network access to elevate privileges and run arbitrary code on the appliance. The flaw affects the 22.1.x, 30.x, 31.x and 32.1.x branches and is resolved in vendor-released builds. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and it is not listed in CISA KEV, but the network-reachable, low-complexity nature combined with a CWE-269 privilege-management root cause makes it a meaningful post-authentication threat.
RemediationAI
The primary fix is to upgrade to a patched release per the Broadcom advisory at https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/37926: upgrade to 32.1.2 if running 32.1.1; upgrade to 31.2.2-2p3 if running 31.1.1-31.2.2; upgrade to 30.2.7 if running 30.1.1-30.2.6 or 22.1.1-22.1.7. Where immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to the Avi Load Balancer management and API interfaces to trusted administrative subnets or VPN segments, reducing the effective attack surface - note this does not eliminate risk if insider-threat scenarios apply. Audit all platform accounts and revoke or demote any unnecessary low-privilege accounts, since PR:L is the prerequisite for exploitation. Enforcing MFA for all platform logins further raises the bar for credential-based access. These compensating controls reduce but do not eliminate risk and should not substitute for patching.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
VMware Avi Load Balancer (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:vmware:avi_load_balancer:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) is a software-defined application delivery controller providing load balancing, WAF, and analytics capabilities, now maintained under Broadcom following the VMware acquisition. The root cause is CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management), meaning the platform insufficiently enforces privilege boundaries - a principal holding low-privilege credentials can traverse into higher-privilege execution contexts sufficient to run arbitrary code. The AV:N vector indicates the vulnerable privilege escalation path is reachable via the network-exposed management or API plane, not confined to local OS-level access.
Know when Avi Load Balancer gets its next vulnerability
- Watch products and get an email when something new is published
- Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
No credit card · 7-day full trial
Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Management interface is network-exposed requiring only low-privilege credentials; full CIA impact reflects demonstrated RCE capability from privilege escalation with no scope change.
Primary rating from Vendor (vmware).
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionNVD
VMware Avi Load Balancer contains a privilege escalation vulnerability. A malicious authenticated user with network access may be able to execute remote code.
Affected versions: 32.1.1 (fixed in 32.1.2) 31.1.1 through 31.2.2 (fixed in 31.2.2-2p3) 30.1.1 through 30.2.6 (fixed in 30.2.7) 22.1.1 through 22.1.7 (fixed in 30.2.7)
Articles & Coverage 1
Executive ViewAI
VMware Avi Load Balancers running versions 22.1.x through 32.1.x are vulnerable to compromise by authenticated administrators enabling arbitrary code execution on this critical application delivery infrastructure, creating direct risk to application availability and security. With this broad version range affected and no patch currently available, organizations should prioritize immediate access controls and prepare for expedited remediation upon patch release.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations include: restrict administrative access via IP allowlist and multi-factor authentication, enable comprehensive audit logging of all administrative actions, implement privileged access management (PAM) to monitor and control administrative sessions, monitor system logs for privilege escalation and code execution patterns, and enforce network segmentation to limit lateral movement if compromise occurs.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.
More in Avi Load Balancer
View allAuthentication bypass in VMware Avi Load Balancer (versions 22.1.1-22.1.7, 30.1.1-30.2.6, and 31.1.1-31.2.2) lets a netw
Directory traversal in VMware Avi Load Balancer (formerly Avi Networks NSX Advanced Load Balancer) lets authenticated ne
Remote code execution in VMware Avi Load Balancer exposes organizations running versions from 22.1.1 through 32.1.1 to a
Remote code execution in VMware Avi Load Balancer exposes the Avi Control Plane to arbitrary code execution by any low-p
Authorization bypass in VMware Avi Load Balancer (branches 22.1.x, 30.x, 31.x, and 32.1.1) allows a network-based actor
Local privilege escalation in VMware (Broadcom) Avi Load Balancer allows a user who already has local access to the appl
EUVD-2026-45365
GHSA-x69w-rh5r-3wgj
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
VulDB
Exploit-DB