# CVE-2021-21524: Deserialization in Dell EMC Storage Monitoring and Reporting

> Remote unauthenticated attackers can execute arbitrary privileged code via untrusted deserialization in Dell SRM/SMR, requiring an upgrade to mitigate system compromise.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 Apr 2021
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-4xvq-9wvg-wghg

## What is CVE-2021-21524?

CVE-2021-21524 is a critical unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Dell EMC Storage Monitoring and Reporting, published on 12 Apr 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Dell SRM versions prior to 4.5.0.1 and Dell SMR versions prior to 4.5.0.1 contain an Untrusted Deserialization Vulnerability. A remote unauthenticated attacker may potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to arbitrary privileged code execution on the vulnerable application. The severity is Critical as this may lead to system compromise by unauthenticated attackers.

Weakness: CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-21524?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Dell Storage Monitoring and Reporting, Dell Storage Resource Manager.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-21524?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-21524 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-21524 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-21524 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Dell EMC Storage Monitoring and Reporting

- [CVE-2024-0157](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-0157/): Auth bypass in Dell Storage Resource Manager (medium 5.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-21524 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-21524 is a critical unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Dell EMC Storage Monitoring and Reporting, published on 12 Apr 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-21524 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Dell EMC Storage Monitoring and Reporting. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21524/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21524/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-21524
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21524
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-21524

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21524/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.