CVE-2025-21107
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 NetWorker, version(s) prior to 19.11.0.3, all versions of 19.10 & prior versions contain(s) an Unquoted Search Path or Element vulnerability. A low privileged attacker with local access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to Code execution.
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 NetWorker versions prior to 19.11.0.3 contain an unquoted service path vulnerability where the executable path in Windows service configuration lacks proper quotation marks. A low-privilege local attacker can place a malicious executable in an intermediate directory within the path, enabling code execution when the service restarts.
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< 19.11.0.3CVSS 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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Check Dell NetWorker installed versionOpen Windows Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{GUID} or check the version in Add/Remove Programs. Also check the program directory typically at C:\Program Files\Dell\NetWorker\bin for a version file or executable properties.Affected if The installed version is lower than 19.11.0.3
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Identify NetWorker Windows servicesOpen Command Prompt as Administrator and run 'sc queryex type= service state= all' to list all services. Look for service names containing 'nsr' or 'networker' (common examples: nsrd, nsrvm, networker, nsrservc).Affected if A Dell NetWorker service exists on the system
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Check service executable path configurationFor each identified NetWorker service, run 'sc qc <servicename>' (e.g., 'sc qc nsrd'). Examine the BINARY_PATH_NAME field in the output.Affected if The BINARY_PATH_NAME field shows an executable path without quotation marks around it (e.g., C:\Program Files\Dell\NetWorker\bin\nsrd.exe instead of "C:\Program Files\Dell\NetWorker\bin\nsrd.exe")
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Verify intermediate directory write accessFor unquoted paths identified above, list each directory in the path (e.g., for C:\Program Files\Dell\NetWorker\bin\nsrd.exe, check C:\Program Files\ and C:\Program Files\Dell\ and C:\Program Files\Dell\NetWorker\). Use icacls command to check permissions on each directory.Affected if A low-privilege user has write permissions to any intermediate directory in the service path and the path is unquoted
The system is affected if Dell NetWorker version is below 19.11.0.3 AND a Windows service exists with an unquoted executable path where an attacker can place a malicious binary in an intermediate directory.
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 · scoped19.11.0.3
Upgrade Dell NetWorker to version 19.11.0.3 or later to remediate the unquoted service path vulnerability.
19.11.0.3
- 1. Back up the current NetWorker configuration and database before upgrading.
- 2. Download Dell NetWorker version 19.11.0.3 from the Dell Support website (www.dell.com).
- 3. Stop all NetWorker services on the server.
- 4. Install NetWorker 19.11.0.3 using the appropriate installation method for your platform.
- 5. Restart NetWorker services after the installation completes.
- 6. Verify the installation by checking the NetWorker version and ensuring all services are running properly.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-21107 — 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-2025-21107 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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