Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-22769 is a critical-severity Use of Hard-coded Credentials (CWE-798) vulnerability in Dell Recoverpoint For Virtual Machines. Its CVSS base score is 10.0 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Unsecured Credentials (T1552); ranked in the top 4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to IA-5 (Authenticator Management) and SC-12 (Cryptographic Key Establishment and Management) — 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-2026-22769 is a hardcoded credential vulnerability (CWE-798) in Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines, affecting versions prior to 6.0.3.1 HF1. Published on 2026-02-17, it carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 10.0 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H), classifying it as critical due to the potential for severe impact.
An unauthenticated remote attacker with knowledge of the hardcoded credential can exploit this flaw over the network with low complexity, gaining unauthorized access to the underlying operating system and establishing root-level persistence.
Dell recommends that customers upgrade to version 6.0.3.1 HF1 or apply one of the specified remediations immediately, as detailed in their advisory DSA-2026-079 at https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000426773/dsa-2026-079.
The vulnerability appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-22769) and has been exploited in the wild by threat actor UNC6201 as a zero-day, per a Google Cloud threat intelligence report (https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/unc6201-exploiting-dell-recoverpoint-zero-day).
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-7966
Vulnerability Data
Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines, versions prior to 6.0.3.1 HF1, contain a hardcoded credential vulnerability. This is considered critical as an unauthenticated remote attacker with knowledge of the hardcoded credential could potentially exploit this vulnerability leading to unauthorized access to…
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the underlying operating system and root-level persistence. Dell recommends that customers upgrade or apply one of the remediations as soon as possible.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- See CISA KEV catalog
Related Threats
Threat-Actor AttributionAI
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Authenticator management requires secure distribution and handling of credentials, structurally discouraging hard-coded values.
Cryptographic key management mandates proper establishment and handling instead of embedding keys in code.
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.
PR.AA-01's credential/key-management processes can reduce the incentive to embed secrets but do not address or detect hard-coded values in source code, so the weakness remains fully possible.
PR.AA-02 addresses human identity proofing and per-person credential issuance at enrollment; it has no bearing on whether developers embed static credentials in software.
PR.DS-01 addresses encryption and integrity of stored data but never touches credential or key management practices, so it neither prevents hard-coded credentials nor removes any of their risk.
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.
Education on secure configuration practices discourages technical staff from embedding or relying on hard-coded credentials in systems and applications.
Secure key-generation, distribution and storage procedures reduce the likelihood that hard-coded or default cryptographic keys will be introduced or left unprotected.
Explicit prohibition of hard-coded passwords and unauthenticated external services stops credentials from being embedded directly in source code.
Contractual requirements for secure coding practices and evidence of testing make it less likely that hard-coded credentials will be introduced or remain undetected in delivered code.
Requiring independent oversight and timely disabling of non-human identities makes it harder for hard-coded or long-lived credentials to remain exploitable.
Mandating immediate replacement of vendor-supplied default credentials eliminates the use of hard-coded or factory passwords that attackers can trivially obtain from documentation or firmware.