There a several ways to patch a VMware ESXi server. vSphere Update Manager (VUM) can update for example a complete ESXi host cluster fully automatic. vSphere Update Manager requires a vCenter Server. When you don’t have a vCenter Server patching can be done from the command line.

Name Patch Date Build; ESXi 6.5 February 2021 Patch: ESXi601: 2021-02-23: 17477841: ESXi 6.5 February 2021 Patch (Security Only) ESXi601. Upgrading ESXi 6.5 to ESXi 6.7. Select the required ESXi host and check the version and build. ESXi-6.5.0-1-no-tools For more information about the individual bulletins, see the Download Patches page and the Resolved Issues section. Patch Download and Installation. Process to Download ESXI/vCenter Patches: To download a ESX, ESXi, VEM (patch bundles for Cisco Nexus Virtual Ethernet Module for ESX/ESXi), and vCenter Server patch follow the steps below: Go to the Customer Connect Patch Downloads page. Log in with your Customer Connect credentials. With ESXi 6.5 Update 2, you can add tags to the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) hardware version 1.2 on ESXi by using ESXCLI commands. A new API provides read and write access in the form of get, set, and clear commands to the non-volatile memory on TPMs of version 1.2.

Esxi 6.5 Patch

Here is a quick overview of how to patch an ESXi 6.x or 7.x host to the latest patch or version (from ESXi 6 to 7 for example).

Step 1. Download the latest patch bundle from the VMware Web site, link. VMware ESXi patches are cumulative! Each patch bundle (.zip archive) includes all the updates from prior patches.

Step 2. Upload the patch bundle (zip) to a (central) datastore with the vSphere Client (prior vSphere 6.5), vSphere Web Client, ESXi host client.

Step 3. Enable SSH

In the vSphere Web client start the SSH service and make a SSH session to the ESXi host

Step 4. Put the host in maintenance mode

Step 5. Install the patch bundle

Using esxcli with the install method has the possibility of overwriting existing drivers. If you are using third-party ESXi images, VMware recommends using the update method to prevent an unbootable state. The following command will install the patch bunde:

Yamaha xt 550 carb rebuild kit. For example install HPE ESXi 6 Update 3:

After the patch bundle is installed check the message. It must say “The update completed successfully, but the system needs to be rebooted for changes to be effective.”

Step 6. Reboot the host by entering the following command:

Step 7. Make a SSH session to the ESXi host and exit maintenance mode

Esxi 6.5 Patching

Release Date: MAY 28, 2020

Build Details

Download Filename:	ESXi650-202005001.zip
Build:	16207673
Download Size:	343.3 MB
md5sum:	273fbaf2d20172ad0b6f61f11933d38b
sha1checksum:	08cc768779b7f6a0805cbae5953d034f380ab626
Host Reboot Required:	Yes
Virtual Machine Migration or Shutdown Required:	Yes

Bulletins

Bulletin ID	Category	Severity
ESXi650-202005401-SG	Security	Important

Rollup Bulletin

This rollup bulletin contains the latest VIBs with all the fixes since the initial release of ESXi 6.5.

Bulletin ID	Category	Severity
ESXi650-202005001	Security	Important

Image Profiles

VMware patch and update releases contain general and critical image profiles. Application of the general release image profile applies to new bug fixes.

Image Profile Name

ESXi-6.5.0-20200504001-standard

ESXi-6.5.0-20200504001-no-tools

For more information about the individual bulletins, see the Download Patches page and the Resolved Issues section.

Patch Download and Installation

The typical way to apply patches to ESXi hosts is through the VMware vSphere Update Manager. For details, see the About Installing and Administering VMware vSphere Update Manager.

ESXi hosts can be updated by manually downloading the patch ZIP file from the VMware download page and installing the VIB by using the esxcli software vib command. Additionally, the system can be updated using the image profile and the esxcli software profile command.

For more information, see the vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples and the vSphere Upgrade Guide.

Resolved Issues

The resolved issues are grouped as follows.

ESXi650-202005401-SG History

Patch Category	Security
Patch Severity	Important
Host Reboot Required	Yes
Virtual Machine Migration or Shutdown Required	Yes
Affected Hardware	N/A
Affected Software	N/A
VIBs Included	VMware_bootbank_vsanhealth_6.5.0-3.126.15965596 VMware_bootbank_esx-tboot_6.5.0-3.126.16207673 VMware_bootbank_esx-base_6.5.0-3.126.16207673 VMware_bootbank_vsan_6.5.0-3.126.15965595
PRs Fixed	N/A
Related CVE numbers	CVE-2020-3958

This patch updates the esx-base, vsan, esx-tboot and vsanhealth VIBs to update the following issue:

ESXi has a denial-of-service vulnerability in the shader functionality. Attackers with non-administrative access to a virtual machine might exploit this issue to fail the VMX process of the virtual machine, leading to a denial of service condition. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the identifier CVE-2020-3958 to this issue. For more information, see VMSA-2020-0011.

ESXi-6.5.0-20200504001-standard

Profile Name	ESXi-6.5.0-20200504001-standard
Build	For build information, see the top of the page.
Vendor	VMware, Inc.
Release Date	May 28, 2020
Acceptance Level	PartnerSupported