Security Resilience

CVE-2023-25543

Dell Power Manager ≤ 3.14

Published
06 February 2024
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0016 5th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-25543 is a high-severity Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges (CWE-280) vulnerability in Dell Power Manager. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Fallback Channels (T1008); ranked at the 5th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SC-24 (Fail in Known State) and SI-17 (Fail-safe Procedures) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A10:2025 Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Dell Power Manager, versions prior to 3.14, contain an Improper Authorization vulnerability in DPM service. A low privileged malicious user could potentially exploit this vulnerability in order to elevate privileges on the system.

CWE(s)
CWE-280CWE-755

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1008 Fallback Channels Command And Control
Adversaries may use fallback or alternate communication channels if the primary channel is compromised or inaccessible in order to maintain reliable command and control and to avoid data transfer thresholds.
attack.mitre.org →
T1012 Query Registry Discovery
Adversaries may interact with the Windows Registry to gather information about the system, configuration, and installed software.
attack.mitre.org →
T1016.001 Internet Connection Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may check for Internet connectivity on compromised systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1027.012 LNK Icon Smuggling Stealth
Adversaries may smuggle commands to download malicious payloads past content filters by hiding them within otherwise seemingly benign windows shortcut files.
attack.mitre.org →
T1027.014 Polymorphic Code Stealth
Adversaries may utilize polymorphic code (also known as metamorphic or mutating code) to evade detection.
attack.mitre.org →
T1029 Scheduled Transfer Exfiltration
Adversaries may schedule data exfiltration to be performed only at certain times of day or at certain intervals.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-32450Same product: Dell Power Manager
CVE-2024-49600Same product: Dell Power Manager
CVE-2023-28051Same product: Dell Power Manager
CVE-2024-39576Same product: Dell Power Manager
CVE-2023-43087Same vendor: Dell
CVE-2025-22395Same vendor: Dell
CVE-2026-23857Same vendor: Dell
CVE-2023-32489Same vendor: Dell
CVE-2023-39249Same vendor: Dell
CVE-2024-39574Same vendor: Dell

Affected Assets

dell
power manager
≤ 3.14

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 6 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V6.2.2
  • V8.3.3

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SC-24 Fail in Known State good match

Requires the system to fail to a known safe state on specified failures, limiting the impact of unhandled exceptional conditions.

SI-17 Fail-safe Procedures good match

Mandates explicit fail-safe procedures triggered by indicated failures, structurally preventing unhandled or mishandled exceptional conditions.

AC-24 Access Control Decisions partial match

Ensuring access decisions are applied to every request structurally prevents the product from taking unexpected paths when privileges are lacking.

AC-25 Reference Monitor partial match

A reference monitor that is always invoked guarantees privilege checks occur, eliminating the root condition for improper insufficient-privilege handling.

AC-3 Access Enforcement partial match

Access enforcement directly stops code from proceeding on insufficient privileges by applying authorization checks before resource access.

SI-11 Error Handling partial match

Requires generation of appropriate error messages on exceptional conditions, directly enforcing correct handling rather than silent or incorrect behavior.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

DE.CM-09 partial match
blocks

Runtime monitoring of software and data surfaces adverse events triggered by unhandled permission failures.

PR.AA-05 partial match
blocks

Defining, enforcing and reviewing access permissions with least privilege directly prevents code paths that mishandle insufficient privileges.

PR.PS-04 partial match
blocks

Generating logs of permission-related events enables detection and analysis of improper handling.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
blocks

A.5.15 only requires determining requirements, defining a topic-specific policy on access control, and considering various factors; it does not itself enforce, implement, or prevent exploitation of mishandled insufficient permissions.

A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.5.37 Documented operating procedures partial match
degrades

Documented operating procedures may specify exception handling but do not guarantee implementation.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
  • V-248548 OL 8 must use a Linux Security Module configured to enforce limits on system services. blocks CWE-280
  • V-248596 OL 8 must enable the SELinux targeted policy. blocks CWE-280
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
  • V-271452 OL 9 must use a Linux Security Module configured to enforce limits on system services. blocks CWE-280
RHEL 9 (2 rules)
  • V-258078 RHEL 9 must use a Linux Security Module configured to enforce limits on system services. blocks CWE-280
  • V-272496 RHEL 9 must elevate the SELinux context when an administrator calls the sudo command. blocks CWE-280

References