CVE-2021-21535
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 Hybrid Client versions prior to 1.5 contain a missing authentication for a critical function vulnerability. A local unauthenticated attacker may exploit this vulnerability in order to gain root level access to the system.
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 Hybrid Client versions prior to 1.5 contain a missing authentication vulnerability in a critical function. A local unauthenticated attacker can exploit this to gain root-level access to the system due to the lack of authentication controls on a privileged function.
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< 1.5CVSS 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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Verify Dell Hybrid Client is installedCheck for the presence of Dell Hybrid Client on the system. On Windows, look in Program Files or the Start Menu. On Linux, check common installation directories or use package management tools (dpkg, rpm).Affected if Dell Hybrid Client software is found on the system
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Determine the installed versionLocate the version information for Dell Hybrid Client. On Windows, right-click the application in Programs and Features, or check the executable properties. On Linux, check /opt/dell/hybrid-client or the package metadata.Affected if The installed version is lower than 1.5 (e.g., 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, etc.)
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Check if the vulnerable service or daemon is runningIdentify any running processes related to Dell Hybrid Client. On Windows, open Task Manager or run 'Get-Process'. On Linux, run 'ps aux | grep -i hybrid'.Affected if The Dell Hybrid Client service or related processes are actively running on the system
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Confirm the privileged function is accessibleSince the specific vulnerable function is not named in the CVE, examine the Dell Hybrid Client service configuration and any exposed interfaces or APIs that handle privileged operations. Check for unauthenticated endpoints or IPC mechanisms.Affected if Any privileged function or interface within Dell Hybrid Client accepts requests without requiring authentication
The environment is affected if Dell Hybrid Client is installed with a version prior to 1.5 and the vulnerable unauthenticated privileged function is accessible.
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 data1.5
Upgrade Dell Hybrid Client to version 1.5 or later to remediate the missing authentication vulnerability.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-21535 — 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-2021-21535 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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