# 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.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 28 Sep 2021
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8fgh-m2wx-m9h3

## 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.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access), CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-36286?

It affects 1 product.


Products: 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.

## Is CVE-2021-36286 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-36286 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-36286 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-36286 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Dell SupportAssist Client Consumer. 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-2021-36286/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36286/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-36286
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-36286
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-36286

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36286/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.