CVE-2026-79940 in iDRAC9
Summary
by MITRE • 08/26/2026
Dell iDRAC9, 14G versions prior to 7.00.00.182 and 15G/16G versions prior to 7.20.30.50, contains an Improper Access Control vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker with remote access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to gaining access to unauthorized data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/26/2026
The identified security flaw resides within the Dell iDRAC9 management controller software across multiple hardware generations, specifically affecting 14th generation systems running firmware versions prior to 7.00.00.182 and 15th or 16th generation systems with firmware earlier than 7.20.30.50. This vulnerability is classified as an Improper Access Control issue, which fundamentally represents a failure in the system's ability to correctly enforce security policies regarding who can access specific resources. In the context of server infrastructure management, iDRAC serves as the primary interface for out-of-band administration, providing critical capabilities such as remote console access, virtual media mounting, and hardware monitoring. The presence of this flaw indicates that the authentication mechanisms or session validation logic within these firmware versions are insufficiently robust to distinguish between authenticated administrative users and unauthenticated entities attempting to interact with sensitive management interfaces.
From a technical perspective, the vulnerability allows an attacker who has established remote network connectivity to the iDRAC interface to bypass expected authorization checks. While the term unauthenticated suggests that no valid credentials are required for initial exploitation, in practice this often implies that the attacker can manipulate request parameters or exploit weaknesses in session handling to access endpoints intended only for logged-in administrators with appropriate privileges. This misconfiguration enables the retrieval of unauthorized data which may include sensitive system configuration details, network topology information, stored passwords, cryptographic keys, or other proprietary server settings. The ability to extract such information without proper authentication constitutes a severe breach of confidentiality and integrity within the management plane of the affected servers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant due to the central role iDRAC plays in enterprise data center operations. If an attacker successfully exploits this flaw, they can gain visibility into the internal network structure by accessing network configuration files or DNS settings stored on the controller. This intelligence gathering phase facilitates further lateral movement within the corporate network. Furthermore, access to unauthorized data may reveal credentials for other systems connected via IPMI or Redfish APIs, potentially leading to a broader compromise of the infrastructure. The attacker could also use this access to modify critical system parameters, such as boot order or power settings, which could result in service denial or instability if exploited maliciously rather than just observed.
This vulnerability aligns with Common Weakness Enumeration identifier CWE-284, which describes Improper Access Control where a software application does not properly restrict permissions for an actor to allow that actor to access information or resources that they should not be allowed to possess. Additionally, the exploitation pattern corresponds to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1078, specifically Valid Accounts, as it involves leveraging valid but improperly validated credentials or bypassing authentication requirements to maintain persistent access and gather intelligence within a targeted environment. The attack vector is classified as Network-based with an Attack Complexity of Low, indicating that no specialized conditions are required beyond network reachability to the iDRAC interface.
To mitigate this risk, organizations must prioritize the immediate update of Dell iDRAC firmware on all affected 14th, 15th, and 16th generation servers to version 7.00.00.182 or later for 14G models, and 7.20.30.50 or later for 15G/16G models. It is imperative that administrators verify the firmware versions across their entire fleet using Dell's official support tools or automated configuration management systems to ensure no legacy vulnerable instances remain in production environments. Beyond patching, security teams should enforce strict network segmentation policies to restrict access to iDRAC interfaces exclusively from trusted administrative subnets. Implementing multi-factor authentication for all remote management accounts and disabling unused services such as HTTP if HTTPS is enforced will further reduce the attack surface. Regular auditing of user roles and permissions within the iDRAC interface ensures that only necessary privileges are granted, adhering to the principle of least privilege.