What is CVE-2025-41244?

CVE-2025-41244 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-09-29.

How severe is CVE-2025-41244?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2025-41244 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2025-41244 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2025-10-30), indicating it is being actively exploited. 8 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

Privilege escalation in Linux Kernel

CVE-2025-41244

VMware Aria Operations and VMware Tools contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability. A malicious local actor with non-administrative privileges having access to a VM with VMware Tools installed and managed by Aria Operations with SDMP enabled may exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges to root on the same VM.

Published 2025-09-29 · last modified 2026-10-18.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.084 (94.9th percentile), scored 2026-10-18.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 95th percentile — 94.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.084 · newest: 0.084 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Linux Kernel
Microsoft Windows
VMware Aria Operations
VMware Cloud Foundation
VMware Cloud Foundation Operations — versions 9.0
VMware Open Vm Tools — versions 13.0.0
VMware Telco Cloud Infrastructure
VMware Telco Cloud Platform
VMware Tools
VMware Vcf Operations — versions 9.0.x

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-267 — Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2025-10-30. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2025-11-20.

Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

support.broadcom.com/group/ecx/support-content-view/-/support-content/Security… (Permissions Required)
af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 (Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 (Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (Exploit, Third Party Advisory)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (Vendor Advisory)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-41244?: CVE-2025-41244 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-09-29.
How severe is CVE-2025-41244?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2025-41244 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2025-41244 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2025-10-30), indicating it is being actively exploited. 8 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.