Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-21585 is a critical command injection flaw in Dell OpenManage Enterprise before version 3.6.1. An attacker already holding high-privileged authenticated access could potentially run operating-system commands through RACADM and IPMI tooling, creating serious confidentiality, integrity, and availability risk.
Executive priority
Treat this as a priority infrastructure-management risk. It affects a platform used to administer systems, so compromise could have outsized operational impact. Prioritize version validation and upgrade, while noting exploitation requires high-privileged authenticated access.
Technical view
The CVE describes OS command injection in RACADM and IPMI tools within Dell OpenManage Enterprise versions prior to 3.6.1. CVSS 3.1 is 9.1: network attack vector, low complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction, changed scope, and high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to Dell OpenManage Enterprise deployments running versions before 3.6.1. Practical risk is highest where high-privileged OME accounts are broadly assigned, reused, or where the management interface is reachable beyond tightly controlled administrator access.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The vulnerability still deserves urgent handling because successful exploitation could allow arbitrary OS command execution, but the attacker must already be authenticated with high privileges.
Researcher notes
Key constraints are important: remote network vector, low complexity, high privileges required, and no user interaction. The affected scope in the bundle is Dell OpenManage Enterprise before 3.6.1; no other Dell products should be inferred from the provided evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Dell OpenManage Enterprise to version 3.6.1 or later per Dell guidance.
- Review Dell advisory KB 000189673 for current vendor instructions.
- Restrict OpenManage Enterprise access to trusted administrators only.
- Audit and reduce high-privileged OME accounts where possible.
- Monitor management activity for unexpected privileged actions.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Dell OpenManage Enterprise instances and record exact versions.
- Flag any OpenManage Enterprise deployment older than 3.6.1.
- Review high-privileged OME user and service accounts.
- Confirm management interfaces are not exposed unnecessarily.
- Check vendor advisory status before closing remediation.
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.
Execution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-21585 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
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H2.36Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.1CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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/000189673CVE 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.