CVE-2026-79740: Dell SCG Information Disclosure Vulnerability

CVE-2026-79740 is an information disclosure vulnerability in Dell Secure Connect Gateway caused by hard-coded credentials. Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this remotely to expose sensitive information. This article covers technical details, affected versions, security impact, and mitigation strategies.

CVE-2026-79740 Overview

CVE-2026-79740 is a hard-coded credentials vulnerability [CWE-798] affecting Dell Secure Connect Gateway (SCG) 5.0. The flaw impacts SCG 5.0 Appliance versions prior to 5.36.00.16 and SCG 5.0 Application versions prior to 5.36.00.00. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the embedded credentials to access sensitive information exposed by the appliance. Dell published advisory DSA-2026-382 addressing this and other issues in the Virtual Edition of the product.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated remote attackers can leverage embedded credentials in Dell SCG 5.0 to access confidential data without any user interaction.

Affected Products

Dell Secure Connect Gateway 5.0 Appliance (Virtual Edition) versions prior to 5.36.00.16
Dell Secure Connect Gateway 5.0 Application versions prior to 5.36.00.00
Deployments referenced by CPE cpe:2.3:a:dell:secure_connect_gateway (application and virtual)

Discovery Timeline

2026-09-09 - CVE CVE-2026-79740 published to NVD
2026-09-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-79740

Vulnerability Analysis

Dell Secure Connect Gateway is a remote support and telemetry appliance that bridges customer infrastructure with Dell support services. The vulnerability stems from hard-coded credentials shipped inside the SCG 5.0 Appliance and Application builds. Because the same credentials exist across every deployment of the affected versions, any attacker who obtains them can authenticate to protected functionality without user interaction. The impact is scoped to confidentiality; integrity and availability are not directly affected according to the CVSS vector.

Root Cause

The root cause is an insecure design pattern classified under [CWE-798]: Use of Hard-coded Credentials. Static secrets embedded in software distributions cannot be rotated per-customer and are typically recoverable through firmware inspection, binary analysis, or leaked documentation. Once discovered, the credentials remain valid for every unpatched instance globally.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires no privileges or user interaction. An attacker with reachability to the SCG management interface authenticates using the embedded credentials and retrieves data exposed by the affected functionality. Appliances published to internal management networks are still at risk because SCG typically has trust relationships with monitored Dell hardware.

No public proof-of-concept exploit is available at this time, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Refer to the Dell Security Update Advisory for vendor-provided technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-79740

Indicators of Compromise

Successful authentications to the SCG management interface from unexpected source IP addresses or outside normal administrative hours.
Repeated authentication attempts against SCG endpoints from a single external or lateral source.
Outbound data transfers from the SCG appliance to non-Dell destinations.

Detection Strategies

Inventory all Dell Secure Connect Gateway instances and verify installed version against 5.36.00.16 (Appliance) and 5.36.00.00 (Application).
Review appliance access logs for logins that do not correspond to known administrators or scheduled maintenance windows.
Correlate SCG authentication events with network flow data to identify sessions originating from untrusted network segments.

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward SCG appliance and application logs to a centralized SIEM for retention and alerting.
Alert on any administrative access to the SCG interface from IP ranges outside the designated management network.
Baseline outbound traffic from SCG appliances and alert on deviations that could indicate information exfiltration.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-79740

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Dell SCG 5.0 Appliance to version 5.36.00.16 or later, and Dell SCG 5.0 Application to 5.36.00.00 or later.
Restrict network access to the SCG management interface to trusted administrative subnets only.
Rotate any credentials, API tokens, or certificates that the SCG appliance stores or has been configured to use.
Audit historical access logs for authentication activity that may indicate prior exploitation.

Patch Information

Dell has released fixed versions through advisory DSA-2026-382. Administrators should download the updated Appliance and Application packages from Dell support and follow the upgrade procedure documented in the Dell Security Update Advisory. Post-upgrade, verify the installed build reports the patched version string before re-exposing the service.

Workarounds

Place the SCG appliance behind a firewall or jump host and permit only allow-listed administrator IP addresses.
Disable or isolate any SCG instance that cannot be patched immediately until the upgrade can be performed.
Segment SCG appliances from general user networks to limit blast radius if credentials are abused.

bash

# Example: restrict access to the SCG management interface using iptables
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s 10.0.0.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP