Code-execution flaw in VMware has a severity rating of 9.8 out of 10

Thousands of servers running vCenter server could be in for a nasty surprise.

Hackers are mass-scanning the Internet in search of VMware servers with a newly disclosed code-execution vulnerability that has a severity rating of 9.8 out of a possible 10.

CVE-2021-21974, as the security flaw is tracked, is a remote code-execution vulnerability in VMware vCenter server, an application for Windows or Linux that administrators use to enable and manage virtualization of large networks. Within a day of VMware issuing a patch, proof-of-concept exploits appeared from at least six different sources. The severity of the vulnerability, combined with the availability of working exploits for both Windows and Linux machines, sent hackers scrambling to actively find vulnerable servers.