# CVE-2021-21548: Security feature bypass in Unisphere for PowerMax, Dell EMC Unisphere for PowerMax Virtual Appliance , PowerMax OS

> An unauthenticated remote attacker can perform a man-in-the-middle attack to view or modify data in transit due to improper certificate validation.

- **Severity:** High 7.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Mar 2023
- **Updated:** 26 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-pcx5-cm5r-cf7f

## What is CVE-2021-21548?

CVE-2021-21548 is a high-severity vulnerability in Unisphere for PowerMax, Dell EMC Unisphere for PowerMax Virtual Appliance ,  PowerMax OS, published on 17 Mar 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Dell EMC Unisphere for PowerMax versions before 9.1.0.27, Dell EMC Unisphere for PowerMax Virtual Appliance versions before 9.1.0.27, and PowerMax OS Release 5978 contain an improper certificate validation vulnerability. An unauthenticated remote attacker may potentially exploit this vulnerability to carry out a man-in-the-middle attack by supplying a crafted certificate and intercepting the victim's traffic to view or modify a victim’s data in transit.

Weakness: CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-21548?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Dell Emc Unisphere for Powermax, Dell Emc Unisphere for Powermax Virtual Appliance, Dell Powermax Os.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-21548?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-21548 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-21548 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-21548 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Unisphere for PowerMax, Dell EMC Unisphere for PowerMax Virtual Appliance ,  PowerMax OS

- [CVE-2020-5367](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5367/): Security feature bypass in Unisphere for PowerMax, Unisphere for PowerMax Virtual Appliance, PowerMax OS (high 7.4)
- [CVE-2020-5345](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5345/): Missing authorization in Unisphere for PowerMax (medium 6.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-21548 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-21548 is a high-severity vulnerability in Unisphere for PowerMax, Dell EMC Unisphere for PowerMax Virtual Appliance ,  PowerMax OS, published on 17 Mar 2023. 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-2021-21548 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Unisphere for PowerMax, Dell EMC Unisphere for PowerMax Virtual Appliance ,  PowerMax OS. 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-2021-21548/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21548/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-21548
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21548
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-21548

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21548/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.