Path Traversal in Dell Supportassist Client Consumer

CVE-2021-36286

Dell SupportAssist Client Consumer versions 3.9.13.0 and any versions prior to 3.9.13.0 contain an arbitrary file deletion vulnerability that can be exploited by using the Windows feature of NTFS called Symbolic links. Symbolic links can be created by any(non-privileged) user under some object directories, but by themselves are not sufficient to successfully escalate privileges. However, combining them with a different object, such as the NTFS junction point allows for the exploitation. Support assist clean files functionality do not distinguish junction points from the physical folder and proceeds to clean the target of the junction that allows nonprivileged users to create junction points and delete arbitrary files on the system which can be accessed only by the admin.

Vulnerability class: Path Traversal (Directory Traversal)

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.1 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (15.8th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 16th percentile — 15.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2021-36286: held from 0.003 to 0.003.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.003 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-36286?
CVE-2021-36286 is a high-severity vulnerability in Dell Supportassist Client Consumer, classified under Path Traversal. CVSS score: 7.1/10. Published 2021-09-28.
How severe is CVE-2021-36286?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.1 out of 10.
Is CVE-2021-36286 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.