Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Dell EMC Avamar Server 19.4 stores certain AvInstaller passwords in plaintext. Someone who already has high local privileges on the server could read exposed credentials and use them to access Avamar as that account. This is not a remote drive-by issue, but it can deepen compromise of a backup platform.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority backup-platform hardening issue. It requires high local privileges, so it is less urgent than a remote exploit, but credential exposure on backup infrastructure can increase business impact during an intrusion.
Technical view
CVE-2021-36317 is a CWE-256 plaintext password storage issue in Dell EMC Avamar Server 19.4 AvInstaller. CVSS 3.1 is 6.7 with local attack vector, low complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to environments running Dell EMC Avamar Server 19.4. The provided sources do not identify other affected versions. Practical risk is highest where untrusted administrators, shared local accounts, or already-compromised hosts can access Avamar server internals.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The described path is local and post-compromise: a high-privileged local attacker may disclose stored credentials and reuse them with the compromised account’s privileges.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports Dell EMC Avamar Server 19.4 only. The advisory describes plaintext password storage in AvInstaller and possible credential disclosure by a local high-privileged attacker. Do not assume remote exploitability, broader version impact, or public exploitation from the provided sources.
Mitigation direction
- Review Dell advisory 000193369 for vendor remediation guidance.
- Prioritize updating or remediating Avamar Server 19.4 systems per Dell guidance.
- Restrict local administrative access to Avamar servers.
- Rotate potentially exposed Avamar credentials if compromise is suspected.
- Monitor privileged Avamar account use for unusual access patterns.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any Avamar Server 19.4 instances are deployed.
- Check Avamar remediation status against Dell advisory 000193369.
- Review local administrator and service account access to Avamar hosts.
- Inspect credential rotation records after any suspected local compromise.
- Verify monitoring covers privileged Avamar authentication events.
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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CWE-256: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-36317 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
- 6.7 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H0.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.7MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/000193369CVE reference
- GLSA-202210-09CVE reference · vendor-advisory
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.
Plaintext Storage of a Password
Plaintext Storage of a Password represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.