Introduction
Root access on a virtual machine can let an attacker bypass security controls, access sensitive data, and establish persistence. CVE-2025-41244 affects VMware Aria Operations and VMware Tools, two core components of enterprise virtualization environments. A local user with non-administrative privileges can use it to escalate to root when certain management features are enabled, which makes it a significant risk for managed VM infrastructure.
About the involved software: VMware is a leading provider of virtualization and cloud management software, with millions of enterprise deployments worldwide. VMware Aria Operations (formerly vRealize Operations) is a centralized operations management platform for hybrid and multi-cloud environments. VMware Tools is a suite of utilities installed on guest VMs to improve their performance and manageability.
Technical Information
CVE-2025-41244 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability classified under CWE-267 (Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions). It applies when VMware Aria Operations manages a VM that has VMware Tools installed and SDMP (Software-Defined Management Platform) enabled. In that configuration, a local attacker with non-administrative privileges can exploit improper privilege definitions to gain root access on the VM.
The cause lies in how privileges are assigned and enforced between Aria Operations and VMware Tools while SDMP is active. The advisory gives no further technical detail and no code snippets. As of this writing, no public proof of concept or exploit code is available.
Affected Systems and Versions
- VMware Aria Operations (specific affected versions not detailed in the advisory)
- VMware Tools (specific affected versions not detailed in the advisory)
- Vulnerable when:
- VMware Tools is installed on the VM
- The VM is managed by VMware Aria Operations
- SDMP (Software-Defined Management Platform) is enabled
See Broadcom VMSA-2025-0015 for the most current list of affected versions and patch details.
Vendor Security History
VMware products have had several privilege escalation vulnerabilities in recent years. VMware Tools has been affected by CVE-2022-31676 and CVE-2025-22230, both of which let local users escalate privileges. VMware Aria Operations has had multiple high-severity vulnerabilities in 2025 as well, including credential exposure and API access control flaws. Broadcom typically issues advisories and patches promptly, but privilege management flaws keep recurring, which suggests ongoing architectural problems.
