# CVE-2021-21526: Command injection in PowerScale OneFS

> Privilege escalation in Dell PowerScale OneFS allows compadmin to execute arbitrary commands as root in SmartLock compliance mode.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 20 Apr 2021
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j4m7-8245-9345

## What is CVE-2021-21526?

CVE-2021-21526 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Dell Powerscale Onefs, published on 20 Apr 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Dell PowerScale OneFS 8.1.0 - 9.1.0 contains a privilege escalation in SmartLock compliance mode that may allow compadmin to execute arbitrary commands as root.

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-21526?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Dell Powerscale Onefs.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-21526?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-21526 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-21526 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-21526 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Dell Powerscale Onefs

- [CVE-2024-53298](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-53298/): Missing authorization in PowerScale OneFS (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2025-27690](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-27690/): Hardcoded credentials in PowerScale OneFS (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-31229](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-31229/): Information disclosure in PowerScale OneFS (critical 9.6)
- [CVE-2026-22278](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-22278/): Auth bypass in PowerScale OneFS (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2024-29170](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-29170/): Hardcoded credentials in PowerScale OneFS (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-21526 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-21526 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Dell Powerscale Onefs, published on 20 Apr 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-21526 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Dell Powerscale Onefs. 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-2021-21526/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21526/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-21526
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21526
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-21526

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21526/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.