dbcve.org
InsightiqApplication · Dell

CVE-2026-40638

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.3.0 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 PowerScale InsightIQ, versions 5.0.0 through 6.2.0, contains an execution with unnecessary privileges vulnerability. A high 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 · moderate confidence

Dell PowerScale InsightIQ versions 5.0.0 through 6.2.0 contains an execution with unnecessary privileges vulnerability. A high-privileged attacker with local system access can potentially exploit this to elevate privileges, likely achieving root or administrator-level access. The vulnerability stems from the application running with more system privileges than required for its operations.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided patch or upgrade to a fixed version when Dell releases an update. Restrict local system access to trusted administrators only and follow least-privilege principles until the patch is applied.

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
InsightiqApplication
Affected:>= 5.0.0, < 6.3.0

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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. Verify InsightIQ is installed
    Check for the presence of InsightIQ directories or the running service. Common locations include /opt/insightiq/ or look for the 'insightiq' process running (ps aux | grep insightiq).
    Affected if InsightIQ is not found on the system, the user is not affected.
  2. Identify installed InsightIQ version
    Locate the version file or check the installed package. In the installation directory (typically /opt/insightiq/), look for a version file, or run: rpm -q insightiq (if RPM-based) or dpkg -l insightiq (if Debian-based). The application web interface may also display the version on login or in About section.
    Affected if Cannot determine version, further investigation needed.
  3. Compare version against affected range
    If the installed version is identified, compare it to the vulnerable range: 5.0.0 <= version < 6.3.0. For example, versions 5.0.0, 5.1.0, 6.0.0, 6.2.0 are all within the affected range.
    Affected if Installed version falls within 5.0.0 through 6.2.0, the environment is affected by this CVE.
  4. Check if application runs with elevated privileges
    Examine the process owner: ps -ef | grep insightiq or systemctl status insightiq. Note the user and group the service runs as (UID/GID). The vulnerability requires the application to run with more system privileges than necessary.
    Affected if The service runs as root or a highly privileged system account, the exploitation impact is higher.

If InsightIQ is installed and the version is 5.0.0 through 6.2.0 (or any version < 6.3.0), the environment is vulnerable and the system is affected by this CVE.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.3.0 or later
Fixed in 6.3.0
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided patch or upgrade to a fixed version when Dell releases an update. Restrict local system access to trusted administrators only and follow least-privilege principles until the patch is applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

InsightIQ 6.3.0 or later

  1. Verify current InsightIQ version by accessing the web UI or checking system information
  2. Download InsightIQ version 6.3.0 or later from Dell Support (support.dell.com)
  3. Review Dell PowerScale InsightIQ upgrade documentation before proceeding
  4. Perform the upgrade following Dell's documented upgrade procedure
  5. After upgrade, verify the new version is 6.3.0 or higher
Caveat Review Dell upgrade documentation for any configuration or compatibility considerations before upgrading

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

Fix this in Insightiq Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2026-40638 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