ESXi 7.0 Update 2d | 14 SEP 2021 | Build 18538813

Check for additions and updates to these release notes.

What's in the Release Notes

The release notes cover the following topics:

What's New

  • ESXi 7.0 Update 2d delivers a fix for ESXi hosts failing with a purple diagnostic screen due to a PCPU preemption error on Dell EMC PowerFlex. For more information, see the Resolved Issues section.

Earlier Releases of ESXi 7.0

New features, resolved, and known issues of ESXi are described in the release notes for each release. Release notes for earlier releases of ESXi 7.0 are:

For internationalization, compatibility, and open source components, see the VMware vSphere 7.0 Release Notes.

For more information on ESXi versions that support upgrade to ESXi 7.0 Update 2d, refer to VMware knowledge base article 67077.

Patches Contained in This Release

This release of ESXi 7.0 Update 2d delivers the following patches:

Build Details

Download Filename: VMware-ESXi-7.0U2d-18538813-depot
Build: 18538813
Download Size: 390.7 MB
md5sum: 2bad3934527592684841c0ef10d40eb5
sha1checksum: f0e5ac8eb4bd9400f3fdc982cc3618b9f889af67
Host Reboot Required: Yes
Virtual Machine Migration or Shutdown Required: Yes

Components

Component Bulletin Category Severity
ESXi Component - core ESXi VIBs ESXi_7.0.2-0.25.18538813 Bugfix Critical
ESXi Install/Upgrade Component esx-update_7.0.2-0.25.18538813 Bugfix Critical

IMPORTANT:

  • To download the ESXi 7.0 Update 2d patch offline depot ZIP file from VMware Customer Connect, you must navigate to Products and Accounts > Product Patches. From the Select a Product drop-down menu, select ESXi (Embedded and Installable) and from the Select a Version drop-down menu, select 7.0.
  • Starting with vSphere 7.0, VMware uses components for packaging VIBs along with bulletins. The ESXi and esx-update bulletins are dependent on each other. Always include both in a single ESXi host patch baseline or include the rollup bulletin in the baseline to avoid failure during host patching. 
  • When patching ESXi hosts by using VMware Update Manager from a version prior to ESXi 7.0 Update 2, it is strongly recommended to use the rollup bulletin in the patch baseline. If you cannot use the rollup bulletin, be sure to include all of the following packages in the patching baseline. If the following packages are not included in the baseline, the update operation fails:
    • VMware-vmkusb_0.1-1vmw.701.0.0.16850804 or higher
    • VMware-vmkata_0.1-1vmw.701.0.0.16850804 or higher
    • VMware-vmkfcoe_1.0.0.2-1vmw.701.0.0.16850804 or higher
    • VMware-NVMeoF-RDMA_1.0.1.2-1vmw.701.0.0.16850804 or higher

Rollup Bulletin

This rollup bulletin contains the latest VIBs with all the fixes after the initial release of ESXi 7.0.

Bulletin ID Category Severity
ESXi70U2d-18538813 Bugfix Critical

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-7.0U2d-18538813-standard
ESXi-7.0U2d-18538813-no-tools

ESXi Image

Name and Version Release Date Category Detail
ESXi70U2d-18538813 09/14/2021 Bugfix Bugfix image

For information about the individual components and bulletins, see the Product Patches page and the Resolved Issues section.

Patch Download and Installation

In vSphere 7.0.x, the Update Manager plug-in, used for administering vSphere Update Manager, is replaced with the Lifecycle Manager plug-in. Administrative operations for vSphere Update Manager are still available under the Lifecycle Manager plug-in, along with new capabilities for vSphere Lifecycle Manager.
The typical way to apply patches to ESXi 7.0.x hosts is by using the vSphere Lifecycle Manager. For details, see About vSphere Lifecycle Manager and vSphere Lifecycle Manager Baselines and Images.
You can also update ESXi hosts without using the Lifecycle Manager plug-in, and use an image profile instead. To do this, you must manually download the patch offline bundle ZIP file from the Product Patches page and use the esxcli software profile update command.
For more information, see the Upgrading Hosts by Using ESXCLI Commands and the VMware ESXi Upgrade guide.

Resolved Issues

The resolved issues are grouped as follows.

ESXi_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
Patch Category Bugfix
Patch Severity Critical
Host Reboot Required Yes
Virtual Machine Migration or Shutdown Required Yes
Affected Hardware N/A
Affected Software N/A
VIBs Included
  • VMware_bootbank_esx-xserver_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
  • VMware_bootbank_esx-base_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
  • VMware_bootbank_vdfs_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
  • VMware_bootbank_clusterstore_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
  • VMware_bootbank_vsanhealth_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
  • VMware_bootbank_crx_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
  • VMware_bootbank_cpu-microcode_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
  • VMware_bootbank_native-misc-drivers_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
  • VMware_bootbank_esx-dvfilter-generic-fastpath_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
  • VMware_bootbank_gc_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
  • VMware_bootbank_vsan_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
PRs Fixed 2824750
CVE numbers N/A

The ESXi and esx-update bulletins are dependent on each other. Always include both in a single ESXi host patch baseline or include the rollup bulletin in the baseline to avoid failure during host patching.

Updates the crx, vsanhealth, vsan, gc, esx-xserver, clusterstore, vdfs, native-misc-drivers, cpu-microcode, esx-dvfilter-generic-fastpath, and esx-base VIBs to resolve the following issue:

  • PR 2824750: ESXi hosts in a cluster on Dell EMC PowerFlex might intermittently fail with a purple diagnostic screen due to a PCPU preemption error

    The management of persistent memory in a cluster on Dell EMC PowerFlex with NVMe drives added as RDM devices might inconsistently update a PCPU preemption counter in ESXi hosts in the cluster. As a result, ESXi hosts might intermittently fail with a purple diagnostic screen.

    This issue is resolved in this release. 

esx-update_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
Patch Category Bugfix
Patch Severity Critical
Host Reboot Required Yes
Virtual Machine Migration or Shutdown Required Yes
Affected Hardware N/A
Affected Software N/A
VIBs Included
  • VMware_bootbank_esx-update_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
  • VMware_bootbank_loadesx_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
PRs Fixed N/A
CVE numbers N/A

Updates the loadesx and esx-update VIBs.

    ESXi-7.0U2d-18538813-standard
    Profile Name ESXi-7.0U2d-18538813-standard
    Build For build information, see Patches Contained in this Release.
    Vendor VMware, Inc.
    Release Date September 14, 2021
    Acceptance Level PartnerSupported
    Affected Hardware N/A
    Affected Software N/A
    Affected VIBs
    • VMware_bootbank_esx-xserver_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_esx-base_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_vdfs_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_clusterstore_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_vsanhealth_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_crx_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_cpu-microcode_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_native-misc-drivers_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_esx-dvfilter-generic-fastpath_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_gc_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_vsan_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_esx-update_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_loadesx_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    PRs Fixed 2824750
    Related CVE numbers N/A

    This patch updates the following issue:

    • The management of persistent memory in a cluster on Dell EMC PowerFlex with NVMe drives added as RDM devices might inconsistently update a PCPU preemption counter in ESXi hosts in the cluster. As a result, ESXi hosts might intermittently fail with a purple diagnostic screen.

    ESXi-7.0U2d-18538813-no-tools
    Profile Name ESXi-7.0U2d-18538813-no-tools
    Build For build information, see Patches Contained in this Release.
    Vendor VMware, Inc.
    Release Date September 14, 2021
    Acceptance Level PartnerSupported
    Affected Hardware N/A
    Affected Software N/A
    Affected VIBs
    • VMware_bootbank_esx-xserver_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_esx-base_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_vdfs_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_clusterstore_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_vsanhealth_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_crx_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_cpu-microcode_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_native-misc-drivers_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_esx-dvfilter-generic-fastpath_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_gc_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_vsan_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_esx-update_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    • VMware_bootbank_loadesx_7.0.2-0.25.18538813
    PRs Fixed 2824750
    Related CVE numbers N/A

    This patch updates the following issues:

    • The management of persistent memory in a cluster on Dell EMC PowerFlex with NVMe drives added as RDM devices might inconsistently update a PCPU preemption counter in ESXi hosts in the cluster. As a result, ESXi hosts might intermittently fail with a purple diagnostic screen.

    ESXi Image - ESXi70U2d-18538813
    Name ESXi
    Version ESXi70U2d-18538813
    Release Date September 14, 2021
    Category Bugfix
    Affected Components​
    • ESXi Component - core ESXi VIBs
    • ESXi Install/Upgrade Component
    PRs Fixed  2824750
    Related CVE numbers N/A

      Known Issues from Earlier Releases

      To view a list of previous known issues, click here.

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