Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Dell EMC NetWorker could write LDAP credentials into local logs. A local administrator on the gstd system could read those credentials and potentially use them to change the network domain. This is high risk because backup infrastructure often has broad trust.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation where NetWorker manages critical backups or uses domain-impacting LDAP credentials. The issue requires local administrator access, but credential exposure from backup infrastructure can expand into broader domain control risk.
Technical view
CVE-2021-21558 is a CWE-532 sensitive-information-in-log-file issue in Dell EMC NetWorker. The CVSS 3.1 score is 8.2 with local attack vector and high privileges required, but scope changes and confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts are high.
Likely exposure
Organizations running Dell EMC NetWorker 18.x, 19.1.x, 19.2.x, 19.3.x, 19.4, or 19.4.0.1 may be exposed. Practical exposure depends on LDAP use, gstd host access, and whether vulnerable logs are retained or readable.
Exploitation context
The bundle describes exploitation by a local administrator of the gstd system. It does not support remote unauthenticated exploitation. KEV is false, and no cited source in the bundle states active exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Dell advisory reference. The record names affected release families but does not provide fixed version details in the supplied bundle. Treat patch targeting and exact remediation steps as vendor-advisory dependent.
Mitigation direction
- Review Dell advisory DSA-2021-104 and apply the vendor security update guidance.
- Restrict local administrator access on gstd systems to explicitly trusted operators.
- Review permissions and retention for NetWorker logs that may contain LDAP credentials.
- Rotate LDAP credentials if logs may have exposed them to unauthorized administrators.
- Monitor domain changes involving affected LDAP accounts.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Dell EMC NetWorker versions and identify any listed affected releases.
- Confirm whether affected NetWorker systems integrate with LDAP.
- Verify whether Dell’s security update guidance has been applied.
- Review gstd system local administrator membership and recent changes.
- Assess logs for exposed credentials using approved internal handling procedures.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-532: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-21558 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.2 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H1.56Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.2HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000186638/dsa-2021-104-dell-emc-networker-security-update-for-multiple-vulnerabilitiesCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File
Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.