Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Dell EMC PowerScale nodes have a hardware design flaw that may let someone with local physical access gain higher privileges without credentials. The issue is especially urgent for Compliance mode clusters, where Dell describes it as critical. The source bundle names a workaround but does not include its technical details.
Executive priority
Treat this as high priority for regulated or Compliance mode storage environments. It is not described as remotely exploitable, but successful local exploitation could compromise stored data confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Technical view
CVE-2021-36315 affects multiple Dell EMC PowerScale node models. CVSS 3.1 is 6.8 with physical attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. The public description characterizes this as local unauthenticated privilege escalation caused by hardware design.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where listed PowerScale node models are deployed and untrusted or insufficiently controlled physical/local access is possible. Compliance mode clusters should be treated as the highest-priority subset because the source explicitly calls them critical.
Exploitation context
The bundle provides no evidence of active exploitation, and CISA KEV status is false. The attack vector is physical, which reduces internet-scale exposure but makes facility, insider, contractor, and shared data-center access controls important.
Researcher notes
Public detail is limited. The sources identify hardware design, physical attack vector, unauthenticated local privilege escalation, affected model families, CVSS vector, and Dell's workaround recommendation. They do not provide exploit mechanics, indicators of compromise, or workaround implementation details in the supplied bundle.
Mitigation direction
- Identify affected PowerScale node models in storage inventories.
- Prioritize Compliance mode clusters for immediate review.
- Review Dell KB 000193005 for the vendor workaround.
- Apply Dell's workaround at the earliest approved maintenance window.
- Restrict and audit physical access to affected nodes.
- Monitor Dell guidance for updated remediation details.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether deployed nodes match the listed affected models.
- Determine whether any affected cluster uses Compliance mode.
- Verify Dell's workaround status on each affected cluster.
- Review physical access logs for affected storage locations.
- Document residual risk where workaround cannot be applied.
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
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CVE-2021-36315 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H0.95.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.8MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000193005/CVE 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.