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Improper Access ControlWeakness · CWE-284

CVE-2026-23856

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 iDRAC Service Module (iSM) for Windows, versions prior to 6.0.3.1, and Dell iDRAC Service Module (iSM) for Linux, versions prior to 5.4.1.1, contain an Improper Access Control vulnerability. A low privileged attacker with local access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to Elevation of privileges.

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

Dell iDRAC Service Module contains an improper access control vulnerability that allows a low-privileged local attacker to escalate privileges to higher levels. The vulnerability exists in both Windows (versions prior to 6.0.3.1) and Linux (versions prior to 5.4.1.1) deployments of the iSM component.

MitigationUpgrade Dell iDRAC Service Module to version 6.0.3.1 or later for Windows, and version 5.4.1.1 or later for Linux, to remediate the improper access control vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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. Confirm iDRAC Service Module is installed
    On Windows, check for 'iDRAC Service Module' or 'iSM' in Services.msc or Add/Remove Programs. On Linux, check for the iSM process or package using 'ps aux | grep -i idrac' or your package manager.
    Affected if The iSM component is not present on the system, then the vulnerability does not apply.
  2. Identify the installed iSM version on Windows
    Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Dell\iDRACServiceModule, or run 'wmic product get name,version' filtering for iDRAC or iSM.
    Affected if The displayed version is lower than 6.0.3.1.
  3. Identify the installed iSM version on Linux
    Check the RPM/DEB package version using 'rpm -q idrac-service-module' or 'dpkg -l | grep -i idrac', or run ' /opt/iDRACServiceModule/iSM --version' if the path exists.
    Affected if The displayed version is lower than 5.4.1.1.
  4. Verify the iSM service is running
    On Windows, verify the 'iDRAC Service Module' service exists and is running via Services.msc. On Linux, check service status via systemctl status iSM or similar service name.
    Affected if The service is installed and running, and the version falls below the fixed releases (6.0.3.1 for Windows, 5.4.1.1 for Linux).

The system is affected if the Dell iDRAC Service Module is installed and running with a version prior to 6.0.3.1 on Windows or prior to 5.4.1.1 on Linux.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Dell iDRAC Service Module to version 6.0.3.1 or later for Windows, and version 5.4.1.1 or later for Linux, to remediate the improper access control vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Dell iSM 6.0.3.1 (Windows) or 5.4.1.1 (Linux)

  1. 1. Identify the Dell iDRAC Service Module (iSM) version currently installed on the affected Windows or Linux system
  2. 2. For Windows systems: Download iSM version 6.0.3.1 or later from the Dell support site (support.dell.com)
  3. 3. For Linux systems: Download iSM version 5.4.1.1 or later from the Dell support site (support.dell.com)
  4. 4. Follow Dell's documented upgrade procedure for iDRAC Service Module, which typically involves stopping any iSM services, running the installer, and restarting services
  5. 5. Verify the upgraded version matches the target fixed version (6.0.3.1 for Windows, 5.4.1.1 for Linux)
  6. 6. Confirm the vulnerability is resolved by verifying the iSM version post-upgrade
Caveat Review Dell release notes for iSM 6.0.3.1 and 5.4.1.1 for any compatibility notes or known issues before upgrading

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,980
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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-2026-23856 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
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