Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Dell iDRAC is a server management controller with deep hardware access. This CVE affects older iDRAC 8 and 9 versions and could let an already highly privileged remote user control process execution and reach the underlying operating system. The main business risk is compromised server management access becoming deeper system compromise.
Executive priority
Treat this as a scheduled but important infrastructure remediation. It is not described as actively exploited, but iDRAC compromise can affect core server control. Prioritize internet-exposed or broadly reachable management interfaces and environments with shared or weak privileged access.
Technical view
CVE-2021-36301 is a CWE-121 stack buffer overflow in Racadm affecting Dell iDRAC 9 before 4.40.40.00 and iDRAC 8 before 2.80.80.80. CVSS 3.1 is 5.9: network reachable, high complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction, high confidentiality and integrity impact, no availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Dell servers running iDRAC 8 or 9 below the fixed versions, especially where remote management is reachable beyond a tightly controlled management network. Because exploitation requires high privileges, compromised administrator credentials or weak management access controls materially increase risk.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The CVSS vector indicates exploitation requires network access, high attack complexity, and high privileges. If achieved, the impact described by Dell/CVE is control of process execution and access to the underlying operating system.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Dell advisory reference. The flaw is in Racadm, with stack-buffer-overflow semantics and high confidentiality/integrity impact. Do not assume unauthenticated exploitability; the published vector requires high privileges and high complexity.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade iDRAC 9 to version 4.40.40.00 or later.
- Upgrade iDRAC 8 to version 2.80.80.80 or later.
- Restrict iDRAC and Racadm access to trusted management networks.
- Review Dell advisory guidance before applying compensating controls.
- Audit privileged iDRAC accounts and remove unnecessary access.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Dell servers using iDRAC 8 or iDRAC 9.
- Confirm each iDRAC firmware version against the fixed-version thresholds.
- Check whether iDRAC management interfaces are exposed to untrusted networks.
- Review privileged iDRAC/Racadm account usage for unusual activity.
- After maintenance, verify firmware versions report the fixed release or later.
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-121: 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-2021-36301 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
- 5.9 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N0.75.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.9MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://support.emc.com/kb/000191229CVE 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.
Stack-based Buffer Overflow
Stack-based Buffer Overflow represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.