CVE-2021-36294
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 VNX2 OE for File versions 8.1.21.266 and earlier, contain an authentication bypass vulnerability. A remote unauthenticated attacker may exploit this vulnerability by forging a cookie to login as any user.
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 · moderate confidenceDell VNX2 OE for File versions 8.1.21.266 and earlier contain an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows remote unauthenticated attackers to forge authentication cookies and gain access as any user on the system.
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<= 8.1.21.266CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 installed Dell VNX2 OE for File versionAccess the system management interface or use the command line to retrieve the operating environment version. Look for a version number in the format 8.x.x.x or check the system information panel in the VNX2 administrative console.Affected if The installed version is 8.1.21.266 or any earlier version (e.g., 8.1.20.x, 8.1.9.x, etc.)
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Identify the installed Dell EMC Unity Operating Environment versionIf the system is running Unity, check the Unity version through the Unisphere management interface or via the service terminal. Navigate to the About or System Information section.Affected if The installed version is 8.1.21.266 or any earlier version
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Verify management interface exposureDetermine if the VNX2 File or Unity management interface (typically ports 443 or 80) is directly accessible from untrusted networks. Review firewall rules and network segmentation configurations.Affected if The management interface is accessible from external or untrusted networks without proper network-based access controls
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Check for unauthorized session cookiesReview web server or application logs for suspicious authentication activity, particularly session cookie values that may indicate cookie forgery attempts. Look for anomalous successful logins without corresponding failed login attempts.Affected if Evidence exists of authentication activity with forged or manipulated session cookies, or successful admin logins without prior failed authentication attempts
A system is affected if it runs Dell VNX2 OE for File or Dell EMC Unity Operating Environment version 8.1.21.266 or earlier, especially when the management interface is network-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 dataApply the vendor patch or upgrade to a fixed version of Dell VNX2 OE for File. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the management interface and monitor for unauthorized access attempts using forged session cookies.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-36294 — 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-2021-36294 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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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.
- 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