CVE-2026-79945 in Secure Connect Gateway
Summary
by MITRE • 09/09/2026
Dell SCG 5.0 Appliance versions prior to 5.36.00.16 and Dell SCG 5.0 Application versions prior to 5.36.00.00, contains an Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') vulnerability. A low privileged attacker with local access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to command execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/09/2026
The identified security flaw resides within Dell SCG 5.0 Appliance versions prior to build 5.36.00.16 and the corresponding Application versions prior to 5.36.00.00. This vulnerability is classified as an Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command, commonly referred to as OS Command Injection or CWE-78. The core technical issue stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the application logic. When user-supplied data is processed by the system, it is inadvertently passed directly to underlying operating system commands without adequate filtering for malicious characters such as semicolons, pipes, ampersands, or backticks. This failure allows an attacker to inject arbitrary shell commands that are then executed with the privileges of the compromised application process.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for remote code execution at the operating system level. Although exploitation requires a low-privileged attacker with local access, this constraint does not significantly mitigate the risk in environments where physical or logical network segmentation is weak. Once an attacker gains local access through any means, including compromised user accounts or insider threats, they can leverage this flaw to escalate privileges and execute commands as the service account running the Dell SCG application. This typically results in full compromise of the underlying host operating system, allowing for data exfiltration, installation of persistent backdoors, lateral movement across the network, and disruption of storage services managed by the appliance.
From a threat intelligence perspective, this vulnerability aligns with MITRE ATT&CK technique T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter, specifically sub-techniques involving shell commands like sh or cmd.exe depending on the underlying OS architecture. The attack vector involves local privilege escalation followed by command execution, which is critical for adversaries seeking to establish a foothold within enterprise storage infrastructure. The lack of proper input sanitization represents a fundamental design flaw in how external inputs are handled before being passed to system-level APIs.
To mitigate this risk, organizations must immediately apply the vendor-recommended patches that update Dell SCG Appliance versions to 5.36.00.16 or later and Application versions to 5.36.00.00 or later. These updates contain code changes that enforce strict input validation and parameterization of system calls, thereby preventing the injection of malicious payloads. In addition to patching, administrators should implement network segmentation strategies to restrict local access to critical infrastructure components. Principle of least privilege should be enforced by ensuring service accounts run with minimal necessary permissions. Regular vulnerability scanning and monitoring for anomalous command execution patterns can also help detect potential exploitation attempts before significant damage occurs.