# CVE-2022-31656: VMware Workspace ONE - Authentication Bypass

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2022-31656 by the CrowdSec Live Exploit Tracker, built from real-world attack data crowdsourced from CrowdSec's global network.

Page: https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2022-31656

## Key facts

- **Exploitation phase:** Background Noise. Continuous low-level scanning or exploitation attempts are observed, mostly opportunistic and automated.
- **CVSS score:** 9.8
- **Public exploit available:** Yes
- **Affected products:** VMware Workspace ONE Access, VMware Identity Manager, VMware vRealize Automation
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)
- **Tags:** enterprise_software

## Description

VMware Workspace ONE Access, Identity Manager and vRealize Automation contain an authentication bypass vulnerability affecting local domain users. A malicious actor with network access to the UI may be able to obtain administrative access without the need to authenticate.

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2022-31656](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2022-31656) is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in VMware Workspace ONE Access, Identity Manager, and vRealize Automation. This flaw allows a remote attacker with network access to the user interface to obtain administrative privileges on affected systems without the need for valid authentication.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 8th of April 2025.

CrowdSec network data shows that most actors exploiting CVE-2022-31656 rely on broad, untargeted scans with minimal filtering. The activity is largely automated and opportunistic in nature.
Data from the CrowdSec community also indicates a gradual decrease in attacks targeting CVE-2022-31656. While still present in the wild, exploitation levels have dropped noticeably week-over-week. This may signal that the vulnerability is becoming less relevant or that defenses are improving fast enough for attackers to lose interest.

Exploitation attempts are typically associated with requests to URLs containing `/saas/t/_/;`.

## Timeline

- 2022-08-05: CVE Published. CVE-2022-31656 is published to NVD.
- 2025-04-08: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2022-31656 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2025-04-25: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2022-31656 for the first time.

## References

- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2022/CVE-2022-31656.yaml

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2022-31656) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2022-31656. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.