CVE-2026-46737 in PowerProtect Data Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 07/22/2026
Dell PowerProtect Data Manager, versions prior to 20.2.0.0, contain(s) an Improper Input Validation vulnerability in the REST API. A high privileged attacker with remote access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to Remote execution.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/22/2026
The Dell PowerProtect Data Manager represents a critical data protection solution that secures enterprise environments through comprehensive backup and recovery capabilities. This system serves as a central management platform for data protection policies, storage resources, and disaster recovery operations across complex IT infrastructures. The vulnerability under discussion affects versions prior to 20.2.0.0, indicating a specific regression or oversight in the REST API implementation that has persisted across multiple releases. The affected API interface represents a primary attack surface for malicious actors seeking to compromise the data protection infrastructure.
The improper input validation flaw manifests within the REST API processing mechanisms where incoming requests fail to adequately validate or sanitize user-provided parameters before processing. This weakness allows an attacker to submit malformed or malicious input that bypasses normal security checks and validation routines. The vulnerability specifically impacts how the system handles API request payloads, potentially allowing attackers to inject commands or manipulate system behavior through crafted inputs. Such flaws typically stem from insufficient sanitization of user-controllable data elements including parameters, headers, or body content within HTTP requests.
The operational impact of this vulnerability escalates significantly due to the high privilege requirements for exploitation, which suggests that attackers must already possess elevated access credentials or have established a foothold within the target environment. However, once successfully exploited, the remote execution capability enables attackers to execute arbitrary code on the affected system with the privileges of the running service. This represents a severe escalation path that could allow adversaries to compromise the entire data protection infrastructure, potentially leading to data exfiltration, system manipulation, or complete service disruption. The attack surface expands beyond immediate system compromise to include potential lateral movement within the protected environment.
Security practitioners should implement immediate mitigations including mandatory version upgrades to 20.2.0.0 or later releases that contain the necessary patches for this vulnerability. Network segmentation and access control measures should be enforced to limit exposure of the REST API endpoints to only trusted administrative systems. Additional monitoring should focus on anomalous API request patterns and unusual authentication behaviors that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which describes improper input validation as a fundamental weakness in software security design. From an attack framework perspective, this issue maps to techniques described in the ATT&CK matrix under command and control categories where adversaries establish persistent access through API manipulation and remote code execution capabilities.
Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls or API gateways that can detect and block suspicious input patterns targeting REST endpoints. Regular security assessments of API interfaces should be conducted to identify similar validation weaknesses across other system components. The incident highlights the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches for enterprise data protection systems, as these solutions often serve as primary targets for sophisticated threat actors seeking to compromise organizational data assets. Proper input validation practices should be enforced throughout the development lifecycle to prevent such vulnerabilities from manifesting in production environments.