CVE-2026-111505 in OpenManage Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE • 10/30/2026
Dell OpenManage Enterprise, versions prior to 4.8.0, contains an Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') vulnerability. A low privileged attacker with remote access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to Command execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/30/2026
The identified security flaw resides within Dell OpenManage Enterprise software versions prior to 4.8.0 and is classified as a critical input validation failure resulting in operating system command injection. This vulnerability stems from an improper neutralization of special elements used in OS commands, allowing malicious actors to inject arbitrary shell commands into the application's execution flow. The root cause typically involves insufficient sanitization or escaping of user-supplied data before it is passed to underlying system utilities for processing. In enterprise management environments, such as those handled by OpenManage Enterprise, input often includes device identifiers, configuration parameters, or query strings that are directly concatenated into command-line arguments without adequate validation against a whitelist of allowed characters or patterns.
From an attacker's perspective, the exploitability of this vulnerability is significantly heightened by its accessibility to low-privileged users with remote access capabilities. Unlike vulnerabilities requiring administrative privileges, this flaw allows individuals with standard user accounts on the management platform to escalate their impact substantially. By crafting specific input payloads that break out of the intended command context, an attacker can execute arbitrary commands under the security context of the application process. This often runs with elevated permissions relative to a regular user but potentially lower than root or SYSTEM depending on how the service is configured, yet it provides sufficient control to compromise the integrity and availability of the managed infrastructure.
The operational impact of this command injection vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution. An attacker can leverage this access to read sensitive configuration files containing credentials for connected devices, modify system configurations to disable security controls such as firewalls or logging mechanisms, install backdoors for persistent access, or pivot into other systems on the network by executing commands that interact with internal services. In a data center context where Dell OpenManage Enterprise is used to monitor and manage hundreds of servers and networking equipment, successful exploitation could lead to widespread disruption, unauthorized data exfiltration, and complete loss of trust in the out-of-band management plane which is often considered a trusted zone separate from general IT networks.
This vulnerability aligns with Common Weakness Enumeration identifier CWE-78, known as Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command, commonly referred to as OS Command Injection. It also maps directly to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1059, specifically sub-technique 004 which covers command and scripting interpreter abuse. The attack vector corresponds to Remote Code Execution via a web application interface, falling under the broader category of injection attacks where untrusted data is interpreted as part of a command or query. Understanding these mappings helps in categorizing the risk within standard security frameworks and ensures that remediation efforts address both the specific code defect and the broader architectural implications of allowing low-privilege users to trigger system-level commands.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate patching to version 4.8.0 or later, where Dell has implemented rigorous input validation and parameterized command execution mechanisms to prevent injection attacks. In environments where upgrading is not immediately feasible, network segmentation should be enforced to restrict access to the OpenManage Enterprise interface exclusively from trusted management networks rather than general user subnets. Additionally, implementing strict role-based access control policies can limit which users have permissions to execute certain administrative functions that might trigger backend commands. Security monitoring solutions should also be configured to detect anomalous command execution patterns or unusual network traffic originating from the management server, providing an additional layer of defense in depth against exploitation attempts while patching efforts are underway.