CVE-2021-43589 : Exploit Details and Defense Strategies

Dell EMC Unity, Dell EMC UnityVSA, and Dell EMC Unity XT versions prior to 5.1.2.0.5.007 contain an operating system command injection vulnerability that may allow an authenticated user to execute arbitrary OS commands with high privileges, potentially leading to an elevation of privilege.

Understanding CVE-2021-43589

What is CVE-2021-43589?

Dell EMC Unity, Dell EMC UnityVSA, and Dell EMC Unity XT versions before 5.1.2.0.5.007 are affected by an OS command injection vulnerability. An attacker with local access and high privileges could exploit this vulnerability to run unauthorized OS commands with the application's privileges.

The Impact of CVE-2021-43589

The base severity of this vulnerability is medium, with a CVSS base score of 6. It poses a high availability impact and high integrity impact, potentially leading to an elevation of privilege.

Technical Details of CVE-2021-43589

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability involves improper neutralization of special elements in a command, known as command injection (CWE-77). This flaw can be exploited by a locally authenticated user to execute arbitrary OS commands on the underlying OS of Unity.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: Unity
Vendor: Dell
Vulnerable Version: < 5.1.2.0.5.007 (unspecified, custom version)

Exploitation Mechanism

Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged

Mitigation and Prevention

Immediate Steps to Take

Update affected systems to version 5.1.2.0.5.007 or later.
Restrict user privileges and access rights to minimize the impact of potential exploitation.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly monitor and audit user activity and commands executed on the system.
Implement principle of least privilege to limit users' access and capabilities.

Patching and Updates

Apply security updates and patches provided by Dell to address this vulnerability.