CVE-2026-35155: Dell iDRAC10 Privilege Escalation Flaw

CVE-2026-35155 Overview

CVE-2026-35155 is an Insufficiently Protected Credentials vulnerability affecting Dell iDRAC10. A race condition exists within the credential handling mechanism that could allow an authenticated low-privileged attacker to gain elevated access to the system. This vulnerability poses significant risk to enterprise environments where iDRAC (Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller) is used for out-of-band server management.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers with low privileges can exploit a race condition to escalate privileges and potentially gain full administrative control over Dell server infrastructure through iDRAC10.

Affected Products

• Dell iDRAC10 version 1.20.70.50
• Dell iDRAC10 version 1.30.05.10

Discovery Timeline

• April 29, 2026 - CVE-2026-35155 published to NVD
• April 29, 2026 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-35155

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from an Insufficiently Protected Credentials weakness (CWE-522) combined with a race condition in Dell iDRAC10. The iDRAC controller provides remote management capabilities for Dell PowerEdge servers, including console access, power management, and hardware monitoring. A flaw in how credentials are handled during certain operations creates a timing window that attackers can exploit.

The attack requires network access and a low-privileged authenticated session. While the attack complexity is high due to the race condition timing requirements, successful exploitation results in complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the iDRAC management interface. User interaction is required to trigger the vulnerable condition.

Root Cause

The root cause is an Insufficiently Protected Credentials vulnerability (CWE-522) where credential data is not adequately protected during state transitions. The race condition occurs when the system processes authentication or authorization requests, creating a window where credential validation can be bypassed or manipulated by a concurrent request from an authenticated low-privileged user.

Attack Vector

The attack is conducted over the network against the iDRAC10 web interface or API endpoints. An attacker must first obtain valid low-privileged credentials to the iDRAC system. Once authenticated, the attacker can attempt to trigger the race condition by sending carefully timed requests that exploit the credential handling flaw.

The vulnerability requires:

1. Network access to the iDRAC10 interface
2. Valid low-privileged authentication credentials
3. Precise timing to exploit the race condition window
4. Some form of user interaction to trigger the vulnerable code path

Successful exploitation allows the attacker to escalate from a restricted user role to administrative privileges, potentially enabling full control over the managed server hardware.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-35155

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual authentication patterns showing rapid successive login attempts from the same low-privileged account
• Privilege changes in iDRAC user accounts that were not authorized through normal administrative procedures
• Anomalous session behavior where a low-privileged user suddenly performs administrative actions
• Log entries showing credential-related errors or race condition indicators during authentication

Detection Strategies

• Monitor iDRAC authentication logs for patterns indicative of race condition exploitation attempts
• Implement alerting for privilege escalation events or unauthorized configuration changes on iDRAC interfaces
• Deploy network monitoring to detect unusual traffic patterns to iDRAC management ports (typically port 443)
• Correlate authentication events across multiple iDRAC controllers to identify coordinated attack attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on all Dell iDRAC10 controllers and forward logs to a centralized SIEM
• Configure baseline alerts for administrative privilege usage and monitor for deviations
• Implement network segmentation monitoring to detect unauthorized access attempts to management networks
• Regularly audit iDRAC user accounts and permissions to identify unauthorized privilege changes

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-35155

Immediate Actions Required

• Review the Dell Security Update DSA-2026-187 and apply the recommended firmware update
• Audit all iDRAC10 user accounts and remove unnecessary low-privileged accounts until patching is complete
• Restrict network access to iDRAC interfaces to trusted management networks only
• Enable multi-factor authentication if supported and review authentication policies

Patch Information

Dell has released a security update to address this vulnerability. Organizations should download and apply the latest iDRAC10 firmware from Dell's support portal as referenced in Dell Security Advisory DSA-2026-187. Ensure that iDRAC firmware versions 1.20.70.50 and 1.30.05.10 are upgraded to the patched versions specified in the advisory.

Workarounds

• Implement strict network segmentation to isolate iDRAC interfaces on dedicated management VLANs with firewall restrictions
• Limit authenticated user accounts to only those absolutely necessary for operations and enforce principle of least privilege
• Enable IP access control lists on iDRAC to restrict connections to known administrator workstations
• Monitor all iDRAC sessions actively and terminate any suspicious low-privileged sessions immediately

# Example: Restrict iDRAC access via firewall rules (adjust IPs as needed)
# Allow only trusted management subnet to access iDRAC
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s 10.0.100.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP