dbcve.org
Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 21 Apr 2022.
DbutilApplication · Dell

CVE-2021-21551

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-05-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.3 or later.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Public exploit Zero-click

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 · unedited
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.

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 confidence

The Dell dbutil_2_3.sys kernel-mode driver contains an insufficient access control vulnerability that allows a local authenticated user to interact with the driver in ways that enable privilege escalation to kernel/system level, cause denial of service, or leak sensitive information. This is a classic kernel driver vulnerability where improper access control checks enable a non-privileged user to manipulate driver functionality.

MitigationApply the Dell security update that patches the dbutil_2_3.sys driver, or remove/disable the driver if not required for system operation, as the vulnerability requires only local authenticated access to exploit.

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
DbutilApplication
Affected:<= 2.3

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate the dbutil_2_3.sys driver file
    Search the filesystem for the file dbutil_2_3.sys. Common paths include the Windows system drivers directory (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\) and Dell support software installation folders such as C:\Program Files\Dell\SupportAssist\ or C:\ProgramData\Dell\. Use the command: dir /s /b C:\dbutil_2_3.sys 2>nul or a file search utility.
    Affected if The file dbutil_2_3.sys exists on the system.
  2. Determine the driver file version
    Right-click the found dbutil_2_3.sys file, select Properties, then go to the Details tab to view the File Version. Alternatively, use PowerShell: (Get-Item 'C:\path\to\dbutil_2_3.sys').VersionInfo.FileVersion
    Affected if The file version is 2.3 or earlier.
  3. Check if the driver is currently loaded
    Open an elevated command prompt and run: sc query dbutil_2_3.sys. Also check the running processes list for Dell support-related services such as SupportAssist, Dell Update, or Dell Customer Connect.
    Affected if The driver shows as RUNNING or a Dell support service is actively running that utilizes this driver.
  4. Identify installed Dell support software
    Open Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) or check the Program Files directories for Dell support applications such as Dell SupportAssist, Dell SupportAssist Remediator, or Dell Update. Verify the installed version through the program's About or Help section.
    Affected if Dell support software is installed and its version corresponds to the vulnerable driver (2.3 or earlier).

The system is affected if the dbutil_2_3.sys driver file exists with version 2.3 or earlier, especially when associated with installed Dell support software.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the Dell security update that patches the dbutil_2_3.sys driver, or remove/disable the driver if not required for system operation, as the vulnerability requires only local authenticated access to exploit.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Check current dbutil_2_3.sys driver version by opening Device Manager, locating the driver under System devices, and viewing Properties > Driver Details
  2. Identify if the driver version is 2.3 or earlier
  3. Obtain the updated Dell dbutil driver version 2.3.2220 or later from Dell Support (support.dell.com) or contact Dell Technical Support
  4. Apply the driver update through Dell's official update mechanism or installer
  5. Reboot the system to load the updated driver
  6. Verify the new driver version is installed and running after reboot
Caveat Driver updates may require system reboot; ensure to save all work before applying

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Dbutil Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-21551 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-21551 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data