Exploited

CVE-2021-21551

Dell dbutil Driver · Hardware, firmware and drivers

Dell dbutil Driver Insufficient Access Control Vulnerability

At a glance

Exploited. Added to CISA’s catalog of exploited vulnerabilities on March 31, 2022.

Affected product: Dell dbutil Driver (category Hardware, firmware and drivers, indicative classification). Name in CISA’s catalog: Dell dbutil Driver.

What should I do?

Apply the security update from Dell.

Deadline set by CISA for US federal agencies: 21 days (due April 21, 2022). It only binds those agencies, but it is a useful measure of urgency.

The vendor’s specific advisory is listed in the NVD references: CVE-2021-21551 on the NVD website.

Original text of the required action (CISA)

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Timeline

May 4, 2021 Vulnerability published Publication date (NVD)
March 31, 2022 Exploitation confirmed Added to CISA’s KEV catalog
April 21, 2022 CISA deadline Remediation deadline set for US federal agencies

The facts, with their sources

Exploitation confirmed: Yes, on March 31, 2022 Date added to the catalog of exploited vulnerabilities. Exploitation itself may have started earlier. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Ransomware: No known use to date That does not guarantee it is not being used: the information is not public. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Hunt for compromise: Not requested by CISA Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA required action: Apply the security update from Dell. Rewritten by this site from CISA’s original text. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA deadline: April 21, 2022, 21 days Set for US federal agencies: a measure of urgency, not an obligation elsewhere. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Vulnerability published: May 4, 2021 Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC
Product according to CISA: Dell dbutil Driver Filed by this site under “Hardware, firmware and drivers” (indicative classification). Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Technical detail of the score: attack vector, complexity, impact. Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC

Severity and activity

7.8 / 10 CVSS severity: high

Score from the NVD. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

— Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS)

FIRST’s EPSS model. Since exploitation is already confirmed, this figure is mostly useful to compare activity. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

Description

Dell dbutil_2_3.sys driver contains an insufficient access control vulnerability which may lead to escalation of privileges, denial of service, or information disclosure. Local authenticated user access is required.

Dell dbutil driver contains an insufficient access control vulnerability which may lead to escalation of privileges, denial-of-service (DoS), or information disclosure.

Summary from CISA (KEV catalog).

CERT-FR advisories

No advisory among the latest CERT-FR publications this site follows. That does not mean there are none.

Information reused under the Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab); the date of last update is shown for each advisory. This site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by ANSSI.

Sources for this page

CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, required action, deadline, ransomware.
NVD (NIST): CVSS severity, publication date, description, vendor references.
EPSS (FIRST): probability of exploitation.
CERT-FR: advisories and alerts (in French).
Brand and category: indicative classification by this site (method).