dbcve.org
Storage ManagerApplication · Dell

CVE-2025-22478

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
86/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges 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 Storage Center - Dell Storage Manager, version(s) 20.1.20, contain(s) an Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker with adjacent network access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to Information disclosure and Information tampering.

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 confidence

Dell Storage Manager version 20.1.20 contains an Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (XXE) vulnerability. This allows an unauthenticated attacker with adjacent network access to exploit how the application processes XML input, potentially reading internal files, causing denial of service, or performing server-side request forgery, leading to information disclosure and tampering.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patch or upgrade to a patched version of Dell Storage Manager. If immediate patching is not possible, disable external entity processing in XML parsers and implement input validation for XML uploads.

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
Storage ManagerApplication
Affected:= 16.3.20= 2016= 2020

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

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. Identify installed Dell Storage Manager version
    Check the application's About or Version section in the Dell Storage Manager client interface, or query the installed software package using system inventory tools (e.g., Windows Programs and Features, Linux package manager). Compare your version against the affected versions: 16.3.20, 2016, 2020, and 20.1.20.
    Affected if The installed version matches 16.3.20, 2016, 2020, or 20.1.20.
  2. Verify XML import or upload functionality is in use
    Review Dell Storage Manager configuration to determine if XML-based data import, backup restoration, or configuration upload features are enabled or have been used. Check for XML-related modules in the administrative interface.
    Affected if XML import, upload, or configuration restore features are active or available in the deployment.
  3. Confirm network accessibility
    Determine if the Dell Storage Manager server is accessible from adjacent network segments. This vulnerability requires adjacent network access (not remote/internet), so assess whether untrusted network segments can reach the application ports.
    Affected if The Dell Storage Manager interface is reachable from network segments outside the trusted management network.
  4. Review XML parser configuration
    Examine XML parser settings in the Dell Storage Manager configuration files or application server settings. Look for configurations related to external entity processing, DTD processing, or XML document type definitions.
    Affected if External entity processing or DTD processing is enabled in XML parser settings (the vulnerable configuration).

You are affected if Dell Storage Manager version 16.3.20, 2016, 2020, or 20.1.20 is installed AND XML processing features are enabled AND the server is accessible from adjacent networks.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patch or upgrade to a patched version of Dell Storage Manager. If immediate patching is not possible, disable external entity processing in XML parsers and implement input validation for XML uploads.

Fix this in Storage Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2025-22478 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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