Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Dell PowerScale OneFS 8.2.x through 9.2.x has a permissions flaw that can let a user with SSH or console login privileges see privileged cluster information. This is not described as a remote unauthenticated issue, but it matters where many users or operators have cluster login rights.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority storage platform issue if affected PowerScale clusters support sensitive workloads or many operators. It is less urgent than unauthenticated remote compromise, but the potential impact to cluster confidentiality and integrity justifies scheduled remediation and access review.
Technical view
CVE-2021-36279 is a CWE-732 incorrect permission assignment issue in Dell EMC PowerScale OneFS 8.2.x to 9.2.x. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.8, with local attack vector, high complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, changed scope, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact ratings.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in organizations running affected OneFS versions where non-admin or broadly assigned accounts have ISI_PRIV_LOGIN_SSH or ISI_PRIV_LOGIN_CONSOLE privileges.
Exploitation context
The supplied bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited active exploitation. Exploitation requires authenticated local SSH or console login capability and high attack complexity, based on the CVSS vector.
Researcher notes
Public details in the supplied bundle are limited. The core issue is permission exposure on critical resources, reachable by users with specific login privileges. Avoid assuming exploit maturity, exact files, or patch versions without Dell KB 000190408 content.
Mitigation direction
- Identify all PowerScale clusters running OneFS 8.2.x through 9.2.x.
- Review Dell advisory 000190408 for vendor remediation and fixed-version guidance.
- Restrict ISI_PRIV_LOGIN_SSH and ISI_PRIV_LOGIN_CONSOLE to users with a clear operational need.
- Review privileged cluster information access until vendor remediation is applied.
- Prioritize upgrade or mitigation for shared, regulated, or sensitive storage environments.
Validation and detection
- Confirm each cluster's OneFS version against the affected 8.2.x through 9.2.x range.
- Enumerate accounts and roles with SSH or console login privileges.
- Verify whether Dell advisory 000190408 has been applied for each affected cluster.
- Check access controls around critical cluster resources after remediation.
- Review audit records for unusual privileged information access by login-capable users.
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-732: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. 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-2021-36279 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
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/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:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H1.16Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/000190408CVE 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.
Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.