CVE-2023-44281
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 Pair Installer version prior to 1.2.1 contains an elevation of privilege vulnerability. A low privilege user with local access to the system could potentially exploit this vulnerability to delete arbitrary files and result in Denial of Service.
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 Pair Installer versions prior to 1.2.1 contain an elevation of privilege vulnerability where a low-privilege user with local system access can exploit improper privilege handling to delete arbitrary files on the system, leading to potential denial of service by corrupting or removing critical system files.
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< 1.2.1CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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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Locate Dell Pair Installer on the systemSearch common installation directories (e.g., Program Files, Program Files\Dell) and check Add/Remove Programs or the Windows Registry for an entry named 'Dell Pair' or 'Dell Pair Installer'Affected if Dell Pair Installer software is found on the system
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Identify the installed version of Dell PairRight-click the Dell Pair executable (typically named DellPair.exe or similar in the installation folder), select Properties, and view the File Version or Product Version field; alternatively, check the version value in the Windows Registry under the Dell Pair installation keyAffected if The version displayed is lower than 1.2.1 (for example, 1.2.0, 1.1.x, or any version prior to 1.2.1)
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Verify the vulnerable component is presentConfirm that the Dell Pair service or executable is present and accessible on the system, as the privilege handling flaw exists in the installed application files themselvesAffected if The Dell Pair application files exist and can be accessed by a low-privilege user
A user is affected if Dell Pair Installer version 1.2.1 or later is NOT installed on the system, meaning any version prior to 1.2.1 is vulnerable to the privilege escalation and arbitrary file deletion flaw.
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.
dbcve · scoped1.2.1
Upgrade Dell Pair Installer to version 1.2.1 or later to obtain the vendor patch that addresses the privilege escalation vulnerability. Restrict local access to trusted personnel and monitor for unauthorized file access attempts.
1.2.1
- Obtain Dell Pair Installer version 1.2.1 from Dell's official support website (support.dell.com) or through your organization's patch management system
- Verify the integrity of the downloaded installer using checksums if provided by Dell
- Apply the installer update following Dell's standard installation procedures for your system
- Verify the installed version is 1.2.1 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,072.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-44281 — 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-2023-44281 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