CVE-2026-21417
Dell Cloudboost Virtual Appliance ≤ 19.14.0.0
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-21417 is a high-severity Plaintext Storage of a Password (CWE-256) vulnerability in Dell Cloudboost Virtual Appliance. Its CVSS base score is 7.0 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Credentials In Files (T1552.001); ranked at the 6th 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-28 (Protection of Information at Rest) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-21417 is a Plaintext Storage of Password vulnerability (CWE-256) affecting Dell CloudBoost Virtual Appliance in versions prior to 19.14.0.0. The issue involves sensitive credentials being stored in plaintext, which could be accessed by an attacker. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.0 (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H) and was published on 2026-01-27.
A high privileged attacker with remote access could potentially exploit this vulnerability to achieve elevation of privileges. The CVSS vector indicates network accessibility with high attack complexity, no user interaction required, and impacts including low confidentiality and integrity effects alongside high availability disruption, though the description emphasizes privilege escalation as the primary outcome.
Dell has addressed this issue in DSA-2026-025, detailed at https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000419894/dsa-2026-025-security-update-for-dell-cloudboost-virtual-appliance-multiple-vulnerabilities, recommending an update to version 19.14.0.0 or later for mitigation.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-4828
Vulnerability Data
Dell CloudBoost Virtual Appliance, versions prior to 19.14.0.0, contains a Plaintext Storage of Password vulnerability. A high privileged attacker with remote access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to Elevation of privileges.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Requiring confidentiality protection of information at rest directly stops passwords from being stored in plaintext.
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.
Encryption and hashing of data-at-rest directly prevent plaintext password storage in files.
Credential management practices normally include secure storage requirements for passwords.
Protecting data-in-use can limit exposure of passwords held in memory.
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.
Directly requires secure handling and protection of authentication information, preventing plaintext password storage.
Requires use of cryptography to protect sensitive data such as passwords at rest.
Secure coding practices would prevent developers from writing code that stores passwords in plaintext.
Mandates secure authentication mechanisms that inherently require hashed or encrypted credentials rather than plaintext.
Requires secure deletion of sensitive information, indirectly reducing exposure of stored plaintext passwords.