CVE-2020-26181
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedDell EMC Isilon OneFS versions 8.1 and later and Dell EMC PowerScale OneFS version 9.0.0 contain a privilege escalation vulnerability on a SmartLock Compliance mode cluster. The compadmin user connecting using ISI PRIV LOGIN SSH or ISI PRIV LOGIN CONSOLE can elevate privileges to the root user if they have ISI PRIV HARDENING privileges.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceDell EMC Isilon OneFS and PowerScale OneFS contain a privilege escalation vulnerability in SmartLock Compliance mode. The compadmin user with ISI PRIV LOGIN SSH or ISI PRIV LOGIN CONSOLE privileges, combined with ISI PRIV HARDENING privileges, can elevate to root user on the affected cluster.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 8.1.0.0= 9.0.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the product and versionRun 'isi version' or check the OneFS web UI under Cluster Management > General to determine if the system is Isilon OneFS or PowerScale OneFS and note the installed version numberAffected if The installed version is Isilon OneFS <= 8.1.0.0 or PowerScale OneFS = 9.0.0
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Verify SmartLock Compliance mode is enabledRun 'isi smb share list' or check the OneFS web UI under Protocols > Windows Sharing > Shares to identify any shares with SmartLock Compliance mode enabled. Also run 'isi lockbox list' to check for SmartLock configurationsAffected if SmartLock Compliance mode is actively enabled on the cluster
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Check for compadmin user accountsRun 'isi auth users view compadmin' or use 'isi auth users list' to enumerate users and identify any accounts named compadminAffected if A compadmin user account exists on the system
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Verify compadmin privilegesRun 'isi auth privileges compadmin' or 'isi auth users view compadmin' to list the assigned privileges for the compadmin account. Look for ISI PRIV LOGIN SSH, ISI PRIV LOGIN CONSOLE, and ISI PRIV HARDENINGAffected if The compadmin account has both ISI PRIV LOGIN SSH or ISI PRIV LOGIN CONSOLE privileges AND ISI PRIV HARDENING privileges simultaneously
A user is affected if running a vulnerable OneFS version (<=8.1.0.0 for Isilon or =9.0.0 for PowerScale), SmartLock Compliance mode is enabled, and a compadmin account exists with the combination of ISI PRIV LOGIN SSH or ISI PRIV LOGIN CONSOLE plus ISI PRIV HARDENING privileges.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the vendor-supplied patch or upgrade OneFS to a version that addresses this vulnerability. Restrict ISI PRIV HARDENING privileges on compadmin accounts in SmartLock Compliance mode until patched.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-26181 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-26181 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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