CVE-2024-22458: Dell Secure Connect Gateway Encryption Flaw

CVE-2024-22458 Overview

CVE-2024-22458 affects Dell Secure Connect Gateway (SCG) version 5.18 and involves inadequate encryption strength. An unauthenticated network attacker can potentially recover plaintext from a block of ciphertext by exploiting the weak cryptographic implementation. The flaw is classified under [CWE-327: Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm]. Dell published the fix in advisory DSA-2024-076. The vulnerability affects confidentiality of data traversing the appliance but does not directly compromise integrity or availability.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated network attackers can potentially decrypt ciphertext protected by the affected Dell Secure Connect Gateway, exposing sensitive information handled by the appliance.

Affected Products

Dell Secure Connect Gateway 5.18.00.20
Dell Secure Connect Gateway 5.20.00.10
Dell Secure Connect Gateway appliance (versions prior to fix in DSA-2024-076)

Discovery Timeline

2024-03-01 - CVE-2024-22458 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-22458

Vulnerability Analysis

Dell Secure Connect Gateway is an appliance that facilitates secure remote support connectivity between Dell infrastructure and Dell's back-end services. The vulnerability stems from the use of a cryptographic algorithm or configuration that offers insufficient strength to protect ciphertext from recovery attacks.

Because the weakness resides in the cryptographic layer itself, an attacker positioned on the network does not require credentials, user interaction, or elevated privileges. The impact is limited to confidentiality: attackers who capture protected traffic or ciphertext blocks may derive plaintext content. Integrity and availability of the appliance are not affected.

Root Cause

The root cause is [CWE-327], the use of a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm. Dell's advisory identifies an inadequate encryption strength condition in SCG components. Weak ciphers, insufficient key sizes, or improper cipher modes can enable ciphertext-to-plaintext recovery through cryptanalytic techniques.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based with low complexity and requires no authentication. An adversary must obtain ciphertext produced by the affected component, typically by intercepting communications the appliance protects. With that ciphertext, the attacker applies cryptanalysis appropriate to the weak algorithm to recover plaintext. See the Dell Security Update DSA-2024-076 for vendor-specific technical context.

No public proof-of-concept exploit is available, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-22458

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected TLS or cipher negotiations to and from the SCG appliance using deprecated algorithms or short key lengths.
Repeated capture attempts or long-lived passive sessions targeting SCG management or callback endpoints.
Unusual volumes of encrypted traffic exports from network segments hosting the appliance.

Detection Strategies

Inventory SCG appliances and compare installed versions against the fixed release listed in DSA-2024-076.
Inspect TLS handshakes to the appliance for weak ciphers, legacy protocol versions, or short RSA/ECC key sizes.
Correlate network capture activity, span-port usage, or promiscuous interfaces near SCG segments with authorized change tickets.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable full protocol logging on network devices adjacent to SCG appliances and forward logs to a central analytics platform.
Alert on cryptographic policy deviations reported by TLS inspection proxies or IDS signatures targeting weak-cipher negotiation.
Track administrative access to the SCG console and callhome configuration for unauthorized changes.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-22458

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the Dell-provided update referenced in DSA-2024-076 to all affected Secure Connect Gateway appliances.
Restrict network exposure of SCG management interfaces to trusted administrative segments only.
Rotate any credentials, tokens, or keys that may have been transmitted through the appliance during the exposure window.

Patch Information

Dell has released fixed builds of Secure Connect Gateway as part of DSA-2024-076. Administrators should follow Dell's upgrade procedure to move affected 5.18 and 5.20 builds to the remediated release. Verify the upgrade by comparing appliance version output against Dell's documented fixed version.

Workarounds

Segment SCG appliances behind firewall rules that permit only required Dell service endpoints and internal management hosts.
Terminate SCG traffic behind a TLS-inspecting proxy that enforces modern cipher suites and rejects weak algorithms until patching completes.
Increase monitoring of appliance network traffic and administrative activity while remediation is scheduled.

bash

# Configuration example
# Verify installed Dell Secure Connect Gateway version before and after upgrade
# Replace <scg-host> with the appliance hostname or IP
ssh admin@<scg-host> "scgcli system version show"

# Restrict inbound management access at the network edge (example iptables rule)
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp -s <admin_subnet> --dport 443 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP