Skip to main content

System Update CVE-2021-21529

MEDIUM
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (CWE-400)
2021-04-02 security_alert@emc.com
5.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Resource consumption limits
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local attacker with access to the system could cause denial of service by exhausting system resources.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
No patch listed yet 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAI

Dell System Update (DSU) 1.9 and earlier versions contain a denial of service vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Implement rate limiting, set resource quotas, validate input sizes, use timeouts.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (CWE-400), which allows attackers to cause denial of service by exhausting system resources. Dell System Update (DSU) 1.9 and earlier versions contain a denial of service vulnerability. A local authenticated malicious user with low privileges may potentially exploit this vulnerability to cause the system to run out of memory by running multiple instances of the vulnerable application. Affected products include: Dell System Update.

Know when System Update gets its next vulnerability

  • Watch products and get an email when something new is published
  • Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 5.5 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

Dell System Update (DSU) 1.9 and earlier versions contain a denial of service vulnerability. A local authenticated malicious user with low privileges may potentially exploit this vulnerability to cause the system to run out of memory by running multiple instances of the vulnerable application.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 89% exploitable
Data Quality
2 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.2%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

28
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +28
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:dell:system_update:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2015-2219 HIGH POC
7.2 May 12

Lenovo System Update (formerly ThinkVantage System Update) before 5.06.0034 uses predictable security tokens, which allo

CVE-2015-6971 HIGH POC
7.8 Oct 03

Lenovo System Update (formerly ThinkVantage System Update) before 5.07.0013 allows local users to submit commands to the

CVE-2022-0354 HIGH POC
7.3 Apr 22

A vulnerability was reported in Lenovo System Update that could allow a local user with interactive system access the ab

CVE-2026-86360 CRITICAL
9.6 Oct 06

Path traversal in Dell System Update (DSU) versions prior to 2.3.0.0 allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to escape

CVE-2015-2233 HIGH
8.3 May 12

Lenovo System Update (formerly ThinkVantage System Update) before 5.06.0034 does not properly validate CA chains during

CVE-2026-86361 HIGH
8.2 Oct 06

Privilege escalation in Dell System Update versions prior to 2.3.0.0 lets a low-privileged local attacker abuse an incor

CVE-2026-86362 HIGH
8.2 Oct 06

Elevation of privilege in Dell System Update (DSU) versions prior to 2.3.0.0 allows an authenticated, low-privileged loc

CVE-2026-71168 HIGH
7.8 Oct 06

Local privilege escalation and code execution in Dell System Update (DSU) versions prior to 2.3.0.0 allows an authentica

CVE-2023-4632 HIGH
7.8 Nov 08

An uncontrolled search path vulnerability was reported in Lenovo System Update that could allow an attacker with local a

CVE-2018-9063 HIGH
7.8 May 04

MapDrv (C:\Program Files\Lenovo\System Update\mapdrv.exe) In Lenovo System Update versions earlier than 5.07.0072 contai

CVE-2019-6175 HIGH
7.5 Sep 26

A denial of service vulnerability was reported in Lenovo System Update versions prior to 5.07.0088 that could allow conf

CVE-2019-6163 HIGH
7.5 Jun 26

A denial of service vulnerability was reported in Lenovo System Update before version 5.07.0084 that could allow service

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy