CVE-2024-22457: Dell Secure Connect Gateway Auth Bypass

CVE-2024-22457 Overview

Dell Secure Connect Gateway (SCG) 5.20 contains an improper authentication vulnerability [CWE-290] in the SRS to SCG update path. A remote, low-privileged attacker can exploit weak certificate validation to impersonate the server by presenting a fake self-signed certificate. Successful exploitation enables the attacker to communicate with the remote server as a trusted party, undermining the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data exchanged during the update process. Dell published security advisory DSA-2024-076 to address the flaw. The vulnerability affects deployments that rely on the SRS-to-SCG migration workflow for remote support connectivity.

Critical Impact
A low-privileged remote attacker can impersonate the SCG server using a self-signed certificate, hijacking the trust channel used for Dell remote support updates.

Affected Products

Dell Secure Connect Gateway 5.20.00.10
Dell SRS-to-SCG migration/update path
Dell remote support appliance deployments running SCG 5.20

Discovery Timeline

2024-03-01 - CVE-2024-22457 published to NVD
2024-03-01 - Dell publishes security advisory DSA-2024-076
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-22457

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the authentication logic used when a Dell Secure Remote Services (SRS) client updates or transitions to a Secure Connect Gateway (SCG) server. The SCG endpoint does not properly validate the identity of the peer during the TLS handshake, accepting self-signed certificates without verifying trust anchors or expected identity attributes. An attacker positioned on the network path, or one holding low-privileged access to the environment, can respond to the SRS client with a fabricated certificate. The client treats the attacker-controlled endpoint as a legitimate SCG server and establishes a session with it.

Once impersonation succeeds, the attacker can intercept credentials, telemetry, and update payloads exchanged between the appliance and the support backend. The flaw maps to [CWE-290] Authentication Bypass by Spoofing, a class of weaknesses where identity is asserted rather than verified.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient certificate validation during the SRS to SCG update flow. The client accepts self-signed certificates without pinning, chain verification, or hostname checks. Trust decisions rely on an assertion the attacker controls rather than a cryptographic proof rooted in a known authority.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access to the update path and low-privileged authentication. The attacker intercepts or responds to the update request with a self-signed certificate, completes the TLS handshake, and impersonates the SCG server. No user interaction is required, and the attack complexity is low.

No public proof-of-concept code or exploit has been observed. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. EPSS data places exploitation likelihood in the lower percentile range.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-22457

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected self-signed certificates presented by hosts claiming to be SCG endpoints during SRS update sessions.
TLS sessions from SRS clients terminating at IP addresses outside the documented Dell support infrastructure.
Certificate fingerprint changes on the SCG update endpoint that do not correspond to a documented Dell rotation.

Detection Strategies

Inspect TLS handshakes to the SCG update endpoint and alert on certificates that fail chain validation or use unexpected issuers.
Compare observed server certificate fingerprints against a known-good baseline captured from a patched appliance.
Correlate SRS-to-SCG migration events with network flow logs to identify sessions routed to unauthorized destinations.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose TLS logging on the SRS client and forward records to a central log platform for review.
Monitor DNS resolution and egress traffic from Dell support appliances for deviations from expected destinations.
Alert on repeated TLS renegotiation or certificate errors originating from SCG or SRS components.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-22457

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the remediation described in Dell advisory DSA-2024-076 to all Secure Connect Gateway 5.20 deployments.
Restrict network egress from SCG and SRS appliances to Dell-published support endpoints only.
Audit existing SCG appliances for unexpected certificate changes since deployment.

Patch Information

Dell has released a fixed version of Secure Connect Gateway addressing the improper authentication in the SRS-to-SCG update path. Administrators should follow the guidance in the Dell Security Update DSA-2024-076 to obtain and install the patched release.

Workarounds

Isolate SCG and SRS appliances on a dedicated management VLAN with strict egress filtering to Dell support IP ranges.
Require administrators to validate certificate fingerprints manually before completing SRS-to-SCG migrations until the patch is applied.
Defer SRS-to-SCG update operations on unpatched appliances until the fixed version has been deployed.

bash

# Configuration example: restrict egress from SCG appliance to Dell support endpoints
# Replace <dell-support-cidr> with Dell-published address ranges from DSA-2024-076
iptables -A OUTPUT -d <dell-support-cidr> -p tcp --dport 443 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A OUTPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP