Global Exploitation of VMware vCenter Vulnerability CVE-2026-59310
In early August 2026, threat actors began exploiting CVE-2026-59310, a critical directory-traversal vulnerability in VMware vCenter Server, allowing unauthenticated remote code execution. Despite Broadcom's release of patches in late July, attackers leveraged this flaw to deploy persistent access mechanisms, notably using reverse_ssh to maintain control over compromised systems. The campaign affected 361 unique IP addresses across 47 countries, with significant concentrations in Germany, the U.S., Turkey, Iran, and France. This incident underscores the rapid weaponization of disclosed vulnerabilities by advanced persistent threat actors, emphasizing the necessity for organizations to promptly apply security patches and monitor for unauthorized outbound connections indicative of compromise.
Kill Chain