Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This issue lets an unauthenticated attacker abuse vulnerable Dell EMC iDRAC9 web links to send a user to an attacker-chosen website. It needs the victim to click a crafted link, so the main business risk is phishing, credential theft, or trust abuse around server management workflows.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority management-plane hardening issue. It is not reported as actively exploited here, but exposed iDRAC workflows are sensitive and can support phishing against privileged administrators.
Technical view
CVE-2021-21578 is a CWE-601 open redirect in Dell EMC iDRAC9 versions before 4.40.40.00. The CVSS 3.1 score is 6.1, with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, changed scope, and low confidentiality and integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Dell EMC iDRAC9 management interfaces run firmware earlier than 4.40.40.00 and administrators can be targeted with links referencing those interfaces.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation requires tricking a user into clicking a maliciously crafted link, then redirecting that user to an arbitrary external URL.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports open redirect behavior only; do not assume code execution or authentication bypass. The affected range is stated as iDRAC9 before 4.40.40.00, but the bundle does not provide deeper product matrix details.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade affected iDRAC9 firmware to 4.40.40.00 or later where Dell supports it.
- Review Dell advisory guidance for any model-specific remediation or constraints.
- Restrict iDRAC management access to trusted networks and administrator workstations.
- Warn administrators not to trust unexpected iDRAC links in email or chat.
- Monitor for suspicious referrals or redirects involving iDRAC management URLs.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Dell EMC iDRAC9 instances and record firmware versions.
- Confirm no iDRAC9 instance is running below 4.40.40.00.
- Review external and internal exposure of iDRAC management interfaces.
- Check whether administrators recently received unexpected links referencing iDRAC hosts.
- Verify remediation against Dell’s advisory, not only generic vulnerability scanner output.
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-601: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. 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-2021-21578 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N2.82.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.1MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/000189193CVE 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.
URL Redirection to Untrusted Site ('Open Redirect')
URL Redirection to Untrusted Site ('Open Redirect') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.