CVE-2021-21567 in PowerScale OneFS
Summary
by MITRE • 08/11/2021
Dell PowerScale OneFS 9.1.0.x contains an improper privilege management vulnerability. It may allow an authenticated user with ISI_PRIV_LOGIN_SSH and/or ISI_PRIV_LOGIN_CONSOLE to elevate privilege.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/20/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-21567 affects Dell PowerScale OneFS version 9.1.0.x and represents a critical improper privilege management flaw that enables authenticated users to escalate their privileges within the system. This vulnerability specifically targets users who possess the ISI_PRIV_LOGIN_SSH and/or ISI_PRIV_LOGIN_CONSOLE privileges, which are typically granted to legitimate users who need to access the system through secure shell or console interfaces. The flaw lies in the insufficient validation and enforcement of privilege boundaries within the authentication and authorization mechanisms of the PowerScale storage platform.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate privilege checking mechanisms that fail to properly verify whether authenticated users have the appropriate authorization levels to perform elevated operations. When users with the specified login privileges attempt to execute commands or access resources beyond their designated scope, the system fails to properly validate their elevated privilege requirements. This weakness creates a pathway for privilege escalation attacks where malicious or compromised users can leverage their existing authenticated sessions to gain higher-level administrative access. The vulnerability operates at the application level within the OneFS operating system framework, specifically impacting how the system handles privilege validation during user session management and command execution.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it directly undermines the security model of the Dell PowerScale storage system. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could potentially gain administrative privileges to modify system configurations, access sensitive data, alter storage policies, and perform operations that should be restricted to authorized administrators only. This escalation capability poses a serious risk to data integrity and system availability, particularly in environments where storage systems contain critical business data or serve as central repositories for sensitive information. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on PowerScale for their storage infrastructure, potentially exposing them to unauthorized access and data breaches.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2021-21567 should focus on immediate patch application from Dell, which addresses the privilege management flaw through updated authentication and authorization controls. Organizations should also implement comprehensive monitoring of user sessions and privilege escalation attempts to detect potential exploitation attempts. The principle of least privilege should be enforced by reviewing and limiting the assignment of ISI_PRIV_LOGIN_SSH and ISI_PRIV_LOGIN_CONSOLE privileges to only those users who absolutely require them for their operational duties. Additionally, implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative access and regular security audits of user privilege assignments can help reduce the attack surface and prevent unauthorized privilege escalation. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-276, which describes improper privilege management, and represents a significant concern under the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation techniques, specifically targeting the use of valid accounts to gain elevated privileges.