CVE-2021-21551: Dell dbutil Driver Insufficient Access Control Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 31 Mar 2022, 331 days after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 79.6%
EPSS score, percentile 99.6 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 8.8 High
CVSS v3.1 base score, given by the CNA
- What should I do?
CISA deadline 21 Apr 2022. Apply updates per vendor instructions.
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
- Which versions are affected?
Affected
- 2.3
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
CISA due date for this action: 21 April 2022.
Advisories and patches
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
Affected products and versions
As listed in the CVE record.
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | 2.3 |
Versions not listed are: unaffected.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
About this vulnerability
Dell dbutil driver contains an insufficient access control vulnerability which may lead to escalation of privileges, denial-of-service (DoS), or information disclosure.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA added CVE-2021-21551 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 31 Mar 2022.
- CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 21 Apr 2022.
- The CVE record was published on 4 May 2021, 331 days before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (High), given by its CNA.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 79.6% (percentile 99.6), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Description
Dell dbutil_2_3.sys driver contains an insufficient access control vulnerability which may lead to escalation of privileges, denial of service, or information disclosure. Local authenticated user access is required.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Weakness
- CWE-782: Exposed IOCTL with Insufficient Access Control
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 4 May 2021 | CVE record published |
| 31 Mar 2022 | Added to CISA KEV |
| 21 Apr 2022 | CISA due date for the required action |
| 21 Oct 2025 | CVE record last updated |
References
More exploited Dell vulnerabilities
- CVE-2026-22769: Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines (RP4VMs) Use of Hard-coded Credentials Vulnerability