Active Exploitation of Critical RCE Vulnerabilities in Enterprise Infrastructure (Cisco UC and VMware vCenter)
Reports warn of in-the-wild exploitation of critical remote code execution vulnerabilities affecting widely deployed enterprise infrastructure. One report describes a purported Cisco Unified Communications zero-day, CVE-2024-20253, impacting Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM), Cisco Unity Connection, and Webex Calling Dedicated Instance, and claims it enables unauthenticated command execution via the web management interface, creating risk of full system compromise and rapid opportunistic scanning of internet-exposed instances.
Separately, CISA added Broadcom VMware vCenter Server CVE-2024-37079 (CVSS 9.8) to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog based on evidence of exploitation; the issue is described as a DCE/RPC heap overflow that can lead to RCE via specially crafted network packets, and Broadcom updated its advisory to acknowledge observed exploitation. A third item (Rapid7’s Metasploit wrap-up) is not about either of these active-exploitation advisories; it covers new Metasploit modules for unrelated vulnerabilities (e.g., Oracle E-Business Suite CVE-2025-61882 and Splunk issues), which may increase general exploitation capability but does not substantively corroborate the Cisco or VMware events.
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Active Exploitation of Cisco Unified Communications RCE (CVE-2026-20045)
Cisco released fixes for a **critical remote code execution** vulnerability in Unified Communications and *Webex Calling Dedicated Instance*, tracked as **CVE-2026-20045**, after it was **actively exploited as a zero-day**. The issue stems from **improper validation of user-supplied input in HTTP requests** to the web-based management interface; successful exploitation can provide **user-level OS access** and enable **privilege escalation to root**. Affected products include **Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM)**, **Unified CM Session Management Edition (SME)**, **Unified CM IM & Presence**, **Cisco Unity Connection**, and **Webex Calling Dedicated Instance**; Cisco provided version-specific remediations including fixed releases and `.cop` patch files (e.g., `ciscocm.V14SU4a_CSCwr21851_remote_code_v1.cop.sha512`). CISA added **CVE-2026-20045** to its **Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog**, citing evidence of active exploitation and highlighting code injection flaws as a common attack vector with significant risk to the federal enterprise. Under **Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01**, Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies are required to remediate KEV-listed vulnerabilities by the specified due date, and CISA urged all organizations to similarly prioritize patching to reduce exposure to ongoing attacks.
1 months ago
CISA Flags Actively Exploited VMware vCenter Server RCE (CVE-2024-37079)
**CISA added CVE-2024-37079, a critical VMware vCenter Server vulnerability, to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog after Broadcom indicated it has evidence of in-the-wild exploitation.** The flaw is a **9.8 CVSS** out-of-bounds write/heap-overflow issue in vCenter Server’s **DCERPC** implementation; an attacker with network access can send specially crafted packets that may result in **remote code execution (RCE)**. CISA’s KEV entry does not attribute exploitation to a specific threat actor and lists ransomware use as **unknown**, but the KEV addition triggers mandatory remediation timelines for US federal agencies. Reporting also noted CISA added multiple other enterprise software issues to KEV in a short span (including vulnerabilities affecting **Versa Concerto** and **Zimbra**, plus developer tools), but the vCenter Server item drew specific attention because it was **patched by Broadcom in 2024** and is still being exploited. Broadcom has not publicly provided details on the scope, victims, or exploitation chain beyond acknowledging observed exploitation, reinforcing the need for organizations running vCenter Server to validate exposure and ensure the relevant updates are deployed.
1 months ago
Active Exploitation of Critical Infrastructure Management RCE Flaws
Multiple maximum-severity vulnerabilities in enterprise infrastructure management products are being **actively exploited**, enabling unauthenticated remote code execution as `root` and creating high-impact initial access paths into data center and security operations environments. Reported exploitation includes mass, automated scanning and rapid weaponization following public disclosure and PoC availability, increasing the likelihood of opportunistic compromise, follow-on payload delivery, and lateral movement in affected networks. Fortinet *FortiSIEM* is reported as under active attack via **CVE-2024-23108**, an unauthenticated command-injection issue in the `phMonitor` component (noted as listening on TCP `8014`) that can yield full system compromise. Separately, Cisco *Secure Email Gateway* / *Secure Email and Web Manager* is reported as exploited via **CVE-2024-20353** (CVSS 10.0), with activity attributed to China-linked **UAT-9686** leveraging the Spam Quarantine interface to gain root execution and deploy custom malware for persistence and evasion. In parallel, Check Point-linked reporting describes **RondoDox** botnet-driven exploitation of HPE *OneView* **CVE-2025-37164** at scale (tens of thousands of attempts observed), consistent with an “exploit-shotgun” approach used to build botnets for DDoS, cryptomining, and secondary payload delivery; the surge coincided with the flaw’s addition to CISA’s known-exploited list.
1 months ago