Linux Mint VM in VMWare Workstation 25H2 fails to access _some_ sites with network bridging enabled

So I’m spinning up a new VM (Linux Mint 22), and for this one I need bridging enabled.

Problem is that in bridging mode – either from the Live OS (i.e. running off the .iso file) or after installing to a local vmdk, it times out reaching some websites but is fine with others.

  • My host computer has only one NIC – a wired GB port.

  • I’ve mucked with the bridging settings in Workstation, including binding to a specific NIC (the only one available).

  • I’ve checked the time/date settings to make sure things aren’t crazy.

  • I’ve confirmed that there are no IP conflicts. (internal network is 192.168.50.x/24, VMWare NAT is 192.168.47.x/24, VMWare host-only is 192.168.17.x/24)

  • I’ve confirmed that the VM gets an address in the correct network (192.168.50.x), and that DNS resolution works 100% for both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sites.

  • The ‘bad’ sites are reachable from my host computer without issue, and are also reachable from the VM when I put it into NAT mode and the VM gets an appropriate address (192.168.47.x).

  • curl -v on a failing site confirms DNS resolution and initial connection, but then it hangs during the TLS handshake:

* TLSv1.3 (OUT), TLS handshake,Client hello (1):
*  CAfile: /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
*  CApath: /etc/ssl/certs
<hangs here>

I’m at a loss here. This should be really straightforward, but it seems I’m missing something.