Some VMware perpetual license owners are unable to download security patches

A significant number of VMware users holding perpetual licenses are facing difficulties in downloading crucial security patches, as reported by The Register. The virtualization giant has acknowledged the issue but has only indicated that affected users will have access to these updates at an unspecified later date, leaving many concerned about the ongoing security risks to their systems. Since Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, which marked the end of perpetual license sales in favor of subscription models, numerous organizations have opted to continue using VMware without a support contract. These users are expected to receive zero-day security patches; however, many have reported challenges accessing these updates through Broadcom's support portal. Some customers have been informed by VMware's customer service that they might have to wait up to 90 days to download the necessary patches. This situation is particularly alarming given that on July 15, VMware publicly disclosed three critical vulnerabilities affecting eight of its products. In a statement to Ars Technica, a Broadcom representative assured that the company remains committed to providing critical security patches for legacy VMware products, even for those without active maintenance agreements, as long as these products are still supported. The Broadcom representative explained that access to the patches is currently restricted to entitled customers due to validation requirements in their support portal. Although VMware has promised that affected users will eventually receive the patches through a separate delivery cycle, the lack of a clear timeline continues to raise concerns about potential security threats. Broadcom has not disclosed the number of users impacted by this issue, attributing the delay to limitations within their portal. The timing of this development coincides with a legal challenge from the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE), which has filed an appeal against the European Commission's approval of Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, seeking to annul the deal’s endorsement.