CVE-2025-27690: Dell PowerScale OneFS Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2025-27690 Overview

Dell PowerScale OneFS contains a use of default password vulnerability that affects versions 9.5.0.0 through 9.10.1.0. This vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker with remote access to potentially exploit the system, leading to the complete takeover of a high privileged user account. The flaw stems from the presence of hardcoded or default credentials that are not changed upon deployment, enabling attackers to gain unauthorized administrative access to enterprise storage infrastructure.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit default credentials to take over high privileged user accounts, potentially gaining full administrative control over Dell PowerScale OneFS storage clusters.

Affected Products

• Dell PowerScale OneFS versions 9.5.0.0 through 9.10.1.0

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-04-10 - CVE-2025-27690 published to NVD
• 2025-07-11 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-27690

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-1393 (Use of Default Password), a security weakness that occurs when a product uses default credentials that are not properly secured or changed during initial configuration. Dell PowerScale OneFS, a scale-out NAS storage platform designed for enterprise environments, contains a high privileged account with default credentials that can be exploited remotely.

The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to authenticate to the system using known default credentials without requiring any prior access or user interaction. Once authenticated, the attacker gains the privileges associated with the compromised account, which in this case is described as a "high privileged user account." This level of access could provide complete administrative control over the storage infrastructure.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-27690 is the presence of default credentials associated with a privileged user account in Dell PowerScale OneFS. These credentials are either shipped with the product and not enforced to be changed during initial setup, or are created as part of a service account that retains predictable or documented default passwords. The failure to implement mandatory credential change policies or to generate unique credentials per installation exposes systems to credential-based attacks.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for this vulnerability is network-based, meaning an attacker can exploit this vulnerability remotely without any authentication, user interaction, or special conditions. The attack path typically involves:

1. Network reconnaissance to identify Dell PowerScale OneFS systems exposed on the network
2. Attempting authentication using known default credentials
3. Successfully authenticating as a high privileged user
4. Gaining full administrative access to the storage infrastructure

The exploitation of this vulnerability is considered low complexity, as it only requires knowledge of the default credentials and network access to the target system. No special privileges or user interaction are required to execute the attack.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-27690

Indicators of Compromise

• Successful authentication events from unexpected or external IP addresses to high privileged accounts
• Multiple authentication attempts using default or service account usernames
• Administrative actions performed outside normal maintenance windows
• Configuration changes to user accounts, permissions, or system settings by unrecognized sessions
• Log entries showing access to sensitive management interfaces from untrusted networks

Detection Strategies

• Monitor authentication logs for successful logins to privileged accounts from unusual source IPs
• Implement alerting for any authentication attempts using known default account names
• Deploy network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) to monitor for credential-based attacks against PowerScale OneFS management interfaces
• Use SIEM correlation rules to detect anomalous privileged account activity patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive audit logging on all Dell PowerScale OneFS systems
• Configure real-time alerting for privileged account authentication events
• Monitor network traffic to OneFS management ports (typically TCP 8080, 8083) for suspicious access patterns
• Implement baseline analysis of administrative user behavior to detect anomalies

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-27690

Immediate Actions Required

• Immediately change all default passwords on affected Dell PowerScale OneFS systems
• Audit all user accounts to identify any with default or weak credentials
• Restrict network access to OneFS management interfaces to authorized administrators only
• Implement network segmentation to isolate storage management networks from general network traffic
• Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) if supported by the deployment

Patch Information

Dell has released a security update to address this vulnerability. Affected organizations should apply the patch immediately by upgrading to a fixed version of PowerScale OneFS. Detailed patch information and upgrade instructions are available in the Dell Security Update Advisory DSA-2025-119.

Workarounds

• Change all default passwords immediately if patching cannot be performed right away
• Implement network access controls to restrict access to management interfaces from trusted IP ranges only
• Place Dell PowerScale OneFS management interfaces behind a VPN or bastion host
• Deploy network monitoring to detect and alert on unauthorized access attempts
• Disable or remove any unnecessary service accounts with default credentials

# Configuration example - Restrict management access via firewall rules
# Block external access to PowerScale OneFS management ports
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8080 -s <trusted_management_network> -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8083 -s <trusted_management_network> -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8080 -j DROP
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8083 -j DROP