VMware ESXi 7.0 Update 3j has been released today!

This patch addresses the following issues:

Build Details

Download Filename:	VMware-ESXi-7.0U3j-21053776-depot
Build:	21053776
Download Size:	379.0 MB
md5sum:	7f67b843759aacc1a05d2074149bcc9b
sha256checksum:	ddff86dcdbe00180b7c6281770715a40c597c12f8c60ecee980167c25ada45ea
Host Reboot Required:	Yes
Virtual Machine Migration or Shutdown Required:	Yes

Components

Component	Bulletin	Category	Severity
ESXi Component – core ESXi VIBs	ESXi_7.0.3-0.70.21053776	Bugfix	Critical
ESXi Install/Upgrade Component	esx-update_7.0.3-0.70.21053776	Bugfix	Critical

With vSphere 7.0 and later, VMware utilizes components for packaging VIBs and bulletins. The ESXi and esx-update bulletins are dependent on each other, so it’s important to always include both in a single ESXi host patch baseline or include the rollup bulletin in the baseline to prevent host patching failure.

When patching ESXi hosts with VMware Update Manager from a version prior to ESXi 7.0 Update 2, it’s highly recommended to use the rollup bulletin in the patch baseline. If that’s not possible, make sure to include all of the following packages in the patching baseline, otherwise, the update operation will fail:

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
ESXi70U3j-21053776	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-7.0U3j-21053776-standard

ESXi-7.0U3j-21053776-no-tools

ESXi Image

Name and Version	Release Date	Category	Detail
ESXi_7.0.3-0.70.21053776	JAN 31 2023	Bugfix	Bugfix image

With vSphere 7.x, the Update Manager plug-in for administering vSphere Update Manager is replaced by the Lifecycle Manager plug-in. The administrative operations for vSphere Update Manager are still accessible under the Lifecycle Manager plug-in, in addition to new capabilities for vSphere Lifecycle Manager.

The typical way to apply patches to ESXi 7.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 VMware Customer Connect. 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. For more information, see the Upgrading Hosts by Using ESXCLI Commands and the VMware ESXi Upgrade guide.

Here are the steps to update your host with the latest Image Profile:

Cut and paste the following commands into the ESXi shell:

esxcli network firewall ruleset set -e true -r httpClient
esxcli software profile update -p ESXi-7.0U3j-21053776-standard \
-d https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml
esxcli network firewall ruleset set -e false -r httpClient