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UK Cyber Defence
VulnerabilityAwaiting Analysis

CVE-2026-41858

Weak Randomness / Insecure Cryptographic Primitive (CWE-338) in Get-RandomPassword in BOSH-Ecosystem / windows-utilities-release allows a network attacker to estimate VM boot time and reconstruct a small candidate list to recover the Administrator…

HIGH 7.5EPSS 0.24%

Does this matter?

High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.24%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.

Description

Weak Randomness / Insecure Cryptographic Primitive (CWE-338) in Get-RandomPassword in BOSH-Ecosystem / windows-utilities-release allows a network attacker to estimate VM boot time and reconstruct a small candidate list to recover the Administrator password. The randomize_password job exists solely to lock the local Administrator account behind an unguessable password as a hardening control. Because the password is derived from a predictable, clock-seeded PRNG, a network attacker who can estimate VM boot time can reconstruct a small candidate list and recover the Administrator password, defeating the hardening control. Affected versions: - windows-utilities-release: all versions prior to v0.23.0 (inclusive); fixed in v0.23.0 or later

CVSS 3.1
7.5 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS
0.24% probability · 16th percentile
CISA KEV
Not listed
Weakness
CWE-338
Source
security@vmware.com

Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.