CVE-2021-36286 Path traversal in SupportAssist Client Consumer
Non-privileged users can delete arbitrary admin-accessible files via NTFS junction points, potentially leading to privilege escalation.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2021-36286?
CVE-2021-36286 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Dell SupportAssist Client Consumer, published on 28 Sep 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Dell SupportAssist Client Consumer versions 3.9.13.0 and any versions prior to 3.9.13.0 contain an arbitrary file deletion vulnerability that can be exploited by using the Windows feature of NTFS called Symbolic links. Symbolic links can be created by any(non-privileged) user under some object directories, but by themselves are not sufficient to successfully escalate privileges. However, combining them with a different object, such as the NTFS junction point allows for the exploitation. Support assist clean files functionality do not distinguish junction points from the physical folder and proceeds to clean the target of the junction that allows nonprivileged users to create junction points and delete arbitrary files on the system which can be accessed only by the admin.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-36286?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Dell Supportassist Client Consumer.
How do I fix CVE-2021-36286?
No fix has been published for CVE-2021-36286 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2021-36286 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-36286 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-8fgh-m2wx-m9h3.