diff --git a/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go b/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
index 1504019311..cd7b59f3f6 100644
--- a/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
+++ b/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
@@ -300,6 +300,7 @@ func provisionWithDriver(cmd *cobra.Command, ds registry.DriverState, existing *
 	}
 
 	virtualBoxMacOS13PlusWarning(driverName)
+	vmwareUnsupported(driverName)
 	validateFlags(cmd, driverName)
 	validateUser(driverName)
 	if driverName == oci.Docker {
@@ -374,23 +375,33 @@ func provisionWithDriver(cmd *cobra.Command, ds registry.DriverState, existing *
 }
 
 func virtualBoxMacOS13PlusWarning(driverName string) {
-	if driverName != "virtualbox" || !detect.MacOS13Plus() {
+	if !driver.IsVirtualBox(driverName) || !detect.MacOS13Plus() {
 		return
 	}
-	driver := "hyperkit"
+	suggestedDriver := driver.HyperKit
 	if runtime.GOARCH == "arm64" {
-		driver = "qemu"
+		suggestedDriver = driver.QEMU
 	}
 	out.WarningT(`Due to changes in macOS 13+ minikube doesn't currently support VirtualBox. You can use alternative drivers such as docker or {{.driver}}.
     https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/docker/
     https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/{{.driver}}/
 
     For more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/15274
-`, out.V{"driver": driver})
+`, out.V{"driver": suggestedDriver})
+}
+
+func vmwareUnsupported(driverName string) {
+	if !driver.IsVMware(driverName) {
+		return
+	}
+	exit.Message(reason.DrvUnsupported, `Due to security improvements to minikube the VMware driver is currently not supported. Available workarounds are to use a different driver or downgrade minikube to v1.29.0.
+
+    We are accepting community contributions to fix this, for more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/16221
+`)
 }
 
 func validateBuiltImageVersion(r command.Runner, driverName string) {
-	if driverName == driver.None {
+	if driver.IsNone(driverName) {
 		return
 	}
 	res, err := r.RunCmd(exec.Command("cat", "/version.json"))
@@ -1459,7 +1470,7 @@ func noLimitMemory(sysLimit, containerLimit int, drvName string) int {
 	}
 	// Recommend 1GB to handle OS/VM overhead
 	sysOverhead := 1024
-	if drvName == "virtualbox" {
+	if driver.IsVirtualBox(drvName) {
 		// VirtualBox fully allocates all requested memory on start, it doesn't dynamically allocate when needed like other drivers
 		// Because of this allow more system overhead to prevent out of memory issues
 		sysOverhead = 1536
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/driver/driver.go b/pkg/minikube/driver/driver.go
index 3b8c67a849..40901c6e14 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/driver/driver.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/driver/driver.go
@@ -190,6 +190,16 @@ func IsSSH(name string) bool {
 	return name == SSH
 }
 
+// IsVirtualBox checks if the driver is VirtualBox
+func IsVirtualBox(name string) bool {
+	return name == VirtualBox
+}
+
+// IsVMware checks if the driver is VMware
+func IsVMware(name string) bool {
+	return name == VMware
+}
+
 // AllowsPreload returns if preload is allowed for the driver
 func AllowsPreload(driverName string) bool {
 	return !BareMetal(driverName) && !IsSSH(driverName)
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/node/start.go b/pkg/minikube/node/start.go
index b1ddf65bbb..877265cbe9 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/node/start.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/node/start.go
@@ -922,7 +922,7 @@ func addCoreDNSEntry(runner command.Runner, name, ip string, cc config.ClusterCo
 func warnVirtualBox() {
 	var altDriverList strings.Builder
 	for _, choice := range driver.Choices(true) {
-		if choice.Name != "virtualbox" && choice.Priority != registry.Discouraged && choice.State.Installed && choice.State.Healthy {
+		if !driver.IsVirtualBox(choice.Name) && choice.Priority != registry.Discouraged && choice.State.Installed && choice.State.Healthy {
 			altDriverList.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("\n\t- %s", choice.Name))
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/reason/reason.go b/pkg/minikube/reason/reason.go
index b8bfe64139..8d6ed7dbd1 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/reason/reason.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/reason/reason.go
@@ -286,6 +286,8 @@ var (
 	}
 	// minikube failed to bind container ports to host ports
 	DrvPortForward = Kind{ID: "DRV_PORT_FORWARD", ExitCode: ExDriverError}
+	// the driver is currently not supported by minikube
+	DrvUnsupported = Kind{ID: "DRV_UNSUPPORTED", ExitCode: ExDriverUnsupported}
 	// the driver in use does not support multi-node clusters
 	DrvUnsupportedMulti = Kind{ID: "DRV_UNSUPPORTED_MULTINODE", ExitCode: ExDriverConflict}
 	// the specified driver is not supported on the host OS
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/registry/drvs/vmware/vmware.go b/pkg/minikube/registry/drvs/vmware/vmware.go
index de335931f7..ac852467aa 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/registry/drvs/vmware/vmware.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/registry/drvs/vmware/vmware.go
@@ -32,8 +32,8 @@ func init() {
 	err := registry.Register(registry.DriverDef{
 		Name:     driver.VMware,
 		Config:   configure,
-		Default:  true,
-		Priority: registry.Default,
+		Default:  false,
+		Priority: registry.Deprecated,
 		Status:   status,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/site/content/en/docs/contrib/errorcodes.en.md b/site/content/en/docs/contrib/errorcodes.en.md
index c5e64788a9..6f766dedef 100644
--- a/site/content/en/docs/contrib/errorcodes.en.md
+++ b/site/content/en/docs/contrib/errorcodes.en.md
@@ -223,6 +223,9 @@ minikube failed to access the driver control plane or API endpoint
 "DRV_PORT_FORWARD" (Exit code ExDriverError)  
 minikube failed to bind container ports to host ports  
 
+"DRV_UNSUPPORTED" (Exit code ExDriverUnsupported)  
+the driver is currently not supported by minikube  
+
 "DRV_UNSUPPORTED_MULTINODE" (Exit code ExDriverConflict)  
 the driver in use does not support multi-node clusters  
 
diff --git a/translations/de.json b/translations/de.json
index c14656d501..f63b4bfb55 100644
--- a/translations/de.json
+++ b/translations/de.json
@@ -181,6 +181,7 @@
 	"Downloading driver {{.driver}}:": "Lade Treiber {{.driver}} herunter:",
 	"Due to DNS issues your cluster may have problems starting and you may not be able to pull images\nMore details available at: https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/qemu/#known-issues": "",
 	"Due to changes in macOS 13+ minikube doesn't currently support VirtualBox. You can use alternative drivers such as docker or {{.driver}}.\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/docker/\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/{{.driver}}/\n\n    For more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/15274\n": "",
+	"Due to security improvements to minikube the VMware driver is currently not supported. Available workarounds are to use a different driver or downgrade minikube to v1.29.0.\n\n    We are accepting community contributions to fix this, for more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/16221\n": "",
 	"Duration until minikube certificate expiration, defaults to three years (26280h).": "Dauer bis das Minikube-Zertifikat abläuft, Default ist drei Jahre (26280 Stunden).",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-acr` secret": "Fehler beim Erstellen des `registry-creds-acr` Secrets",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-dpr` secret": "Fehler beim Erstellen des `registry-creds-dpr` Secrets",
diff --git a/translations/es.json b/translations/es.json
index e92b8751ef..a0aecc7f1a 100644
--- a/translations/es.json
+++ b/translations/es.json
@@ -189,6 +189,7 @@
 	"Due to issues with CRI-O post v1.17.3, we need to restart your cluster.": "Debido a problemas con CRI-O post v1.17.3, necesitamos reiniciar tu cluster.",
 	"Due to networking limitations of driver {{.driver_name}} on {{.os_name}}, {{.addon_name}} addon is not supported.\nAlternatively to use this addon you can use a vm-based driver:\n\n\t'minikube start --vm=true'\n\nTo track the update on this work in progress feature please check:\nhttps://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/7332": "Debido a las limitaciones de red del controlador {{.driver_name}} en {{.os_name}}, el complemento \"{{.addon_name}}\" no está soportado.\nPara usar este complemento, puedes utilizar un controlador basado en vm\n\n\t'minikube start --vm=true'\n\nPara realizar un seguimiento de las actualizaciones de esta función consulte:\nhttps://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/7332",
 	"Due to networking limitations of driver {{.driver_name}}, {{.addon_name}} addon is not supported. Try using a different driver.": "Debido a limitaciones de red del controlador {{.driver_name}}, el complemento \"{{.addon_name}}\" no está soportado. Intenta usar un controlador diferente.",
+	"Due to security improvements to minikube the VMware driver is currently not supported. Available workarounds are to use a different driver or downgrade minikube to v1.29.0.\n\n    We are accepting community contributions to fix this, for more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/16221\n": "",
 	"Duration until minikube certificate expiration, defaults to three years (26280h).": "",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-acr` secret": "ERROR creando el secreto `registry-creds-acr`",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-dpr` secret": "ERROR creando el secreto `registry-creds-dpr`",
diff --git a/translations/fr.json b/translations/fr.json
index 42c794b612..ff71406971 100644
--- a/translations/fr.json
+++ b/translations/fr.json
@@ -183,6 +183,7 @@
 	"Downloading driver {{.driver}}:": "Téléchargement du pilote {{.driver}} :",
 	"Due to DNS issues your cluster may have problems starting and you may not be able to pull images\nMore details available at: https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/qemu/#known-issues": "En raison de problèmes DNS, votre cluster peut avoir des problèmes de démarrage et vous ne pourrez peut-être pas extraire d'images\nPlus de détails disponibles sur : https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/qemu/#known-issues",
 	"Due to changes in macOS 13+ minikube doesn't currently support VirtualBox. You can use alternative drivers such as docker or {{.driver}}.\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/docker/\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/{{.driver}}/\n\n    For more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/15274\n": "En raison de changements dans macOS 13+, minikube ne prend actuellement pas en charge VirtualBox. Vous pouvez utiliser des pilotes alternatifs tels que docker ou {{.driver}}.\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/docker/\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/ docs/drivers/{{.driver}}/\n\n    Pour plus de détails sur le problème, voir : https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/15274\n",
+	"Due to security improvements to minikube the VMware driver is currently not supported. Available workarounds are to use a different driver or downgrade minikube to v1.29.0.\n\n    We are accepting community contributions to fix this, for more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/16221\n": "",
 	"Duration until minikube certificate expiration, defaults to three years (26280h).": "Durée jusqu'à l'expiration du certificat minikube, par défaut à trois ans (26280h).",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-acr` secret": "ERREUR lors de la création du secret `registry-creds-acr`",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-dpr` secret": "ERREUR lors de la création du secret `registry-creds-dpr`",
diff --git a/translations/ja.json b/translations/ja.json
index 7bce1e15c0..63da5bef60 100644
--- a/translations/ja.json
+++ b/translations/ja.json
@@ -173,6 +173,7 @@
 	"Downloading driver {{.driver}}:": "{{.driver}} ドライバーをダウンロードしています:",
 	"Due to DNS issues your cluster may have problems starting and you may not be able to pull images\nMore details available at: https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/qemu/#known-issues": "DNS の問題により、クラスターの起動に問題が発生し、イメージを取得できない場合があります\n詳細については、https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/qemu/#known-issues を参照してください",
 	"Due to changes in macOS 13+ minikube doesn't currently support VirtualBox. You can use alternative drivers such as docker or {{.driver}}.\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/docker/\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/{{.driver}}/\n\n    For more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/15274\n": "",
+	"Due to security improvements to minikube the VMware driver is currently not supported. Available workarounds are to use a different driver or downgrade minikube to v1.29.0.\n\n    We are accepting community contributions to fix this, for more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/16221\n": "",
 	"Duration until minikube certificate expiration, defaults to three years (26280h).": "minikube 証明書の有効期限。デフォルトは 3 年間 (26280h)。",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-acr` secret": "`registry-creds-acr` シークレット作成中にエラーが発生しました",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-dpr` secret": "`registry-creds-dpr` シークレット作成中にエラーが発生しました",
diff --git a/translations/ko.json b/translations/ko.json
index e39b9ac87f..dcc8626d35 100644
--- a/translations/ko.json
+++ b/translations/ko.json
@@ -191,6 +191,7 @@
 	"Downloading {{.name}} {{.version}}": "{{.name}} {{.version}} 다운로드 중",
 	"Due to DNS issues your cluster may have problems starting and you may not be able to pull images\nMore details available at: https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/qemu/#known-issues": "",
 	"Due to changes in macOS 13+ minikube doesn't currently support VirtualBox. You can use alternative drivers such as docker or {{.driver}}.\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/docker/\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/{{.driver}}/\n\n    For more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/15274\n": "",
+	"Due to security improvements to minikube the VMware driver is currently not supported. Available workarounds are to use a different driver or downgrade minikube to v1.29.0.\n\n    We are accepting community contributions to fix this, for more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/16221\n": "",
 	"Duration until minikube certificate expiration, defaults to three years (26280h).": "",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-acr` secret": "registry-creds-acr` secret 생성 오류",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-dpr` secret": "`registry-creds-dpr` secret 생성 오류",
diff --git a/translations/pl.json b/translations/pl.json
index 3817ee6f1b..0dc1d477bf 100644
--- a/translations/pl.json
+++ b/translations/pl.json
@@ -191,6 +191,7 @@
 	"Downloading {{.name}} {{.version}}": "Pobieranie {{.name}} {{.version}}",
 	"Due to DNS issues your cluster may have problems starting and you may not be able to pull images\nMore details available at: https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/qemu/#known-issues": "",
 	"Due to changes in macOS 13+ minikube doesn't currently support VirtualBox. You can use alternative drivers such as docker or {{.driver}}.\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/docker/\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/{{.driver}}/\n\n    For more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/15274\n": "",
+	"Due to security improvements to minikube the VMware driver is currently not supported. Available workarounds are to use a different driver or downgrade minikube to v1.29.0.\n\n    We are accepting community contributions to fix this, for more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/16221\n": "",
 	"Duration until minikube certificate expiration, defaults to three years (26280h).": "",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-acr` secret": "",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-dpr` secret": "",
diff --git a/translations/ru.json b/translations/ru.json
index 388be6e2d5..d2b862a108 100644
--- a/translations/ru.json
+++ b/translations/ru.json
@@ -170,6 +170,7 @@
 	"Downloading driver {{.driver}}:": "",
 	"Due to DNS issues your cluster may have problems starting and you may not be able to pull images\nMore details available at: https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/qemu/#known-issues": "",
 	"Due to changes in macOS 13+ minikube doesn't currently support VirtualBox. You can use alternative drivers such as docker or {{.driver}}.\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/docker/\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/{{.driver}}/\n\n    For more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/15274\n": "",
+	"Due to security improvements to minikube the VMware driver is currently not supported. Available workarounds are to use a different driver or downgrade minikube to v1.29.0.\n\n    We are accepting community contributions to fix this, for more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/16221\n": "",
 	"Duration until minikube certificate expiration, defaults to three years (26280h).": "",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-acr` secret": "",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-dpr` secret": "",
diff --git a/translations/strings.txt b/translations/strings.txt
index b1f3ce71ff..ea6eb0f374 100644
--- a/translations/strings.txt
+++ b/translations/strings.txt
@@ -170,6 +170,7 @@
 	"Downloading driver {{.driver}}:": "",
 	"Due to DNS issues your cluster may have problems starting and you may not be able to pull images\nMore details available at: https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/qemu/#known-issues": "",
 	"Due to changes in macOS 13+ minikube doesn't currently support VirtualBox. You can use alternative drivers such as docker or {{.driver}}.\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/docker/\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/{{.driver}}/\n\n    For more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/15274\n": "",
+	"Due to security improvements to minikube the VMware driver is currently not supported. Available workarounds are to use a different driver or downgrade minikube to v1.29.0.\n\n    We are accepting community contributions to fix this, for more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/16221\n": "",
 	"Duration until minikube certificate expiration, defaults to three years (26280h).": "",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-acr` secret": "",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-dpr` secret": "",
diff --git a/translations/zh-CN.json b/translations/zh-CN.json
index 7e23b2c928..a9e3419f5b 100644
--- a/translations/zh-CN.json
+++ b/translations/zh-CN.json
@@ -217,6 +217,7 @@
 	"Downloading {{.name}} {{.version}}": "正在下载 {{.name}} {{.version}}",
 	"Due to DNS issues your cluster may have problems starting and you may not be able to pull images\nMore details available at: https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/qemu/#known-issues": "",
 	"Due to changes in macOS 13+ minikube doesn't currently support VirtualBox. You can use alternative drivers such as docker or {{.driver}}.\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/docker/\n    https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/drivers/{{.driver}}/\n\n    For more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/15274\n": "",
+	"Due to security improvements to minikube the VMware driver is currently not supported. Available workarounds are to use a different driver or downgrade minikube to v1.29.0.\n\n    We are accepting community contributions to fix this, for more details on the issue see: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/16221\n": "",
 	"Duration until minikube certificate expiration, defaults to three years (26280h).": "",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-acr` secret": "",
 	"ERROR creating `registry-creds-dpr` secret": "创建 `registry-creds-dpr` secret 时出错",