CVE-2026-23857
Published: 12 February 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-23857 is a high-severity Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges (CWE-280) vulnerability in Dell Update Package Framework. Its CVSS base score is 8.2 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 2.3th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 AC-6 (Least Privilege) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Timely remediation through application of Dell's security update directly fixes the improper handling of permissions vulnerability in the DUP Framework.
Least privilege enforcement limits the privileges available to low-privileged local attackers, directly mitigating privilege escalation potential in the DUP Framework.
Access enforcement ensures system mechanisms properly mediate privilege checks, countering the DUP Framework's insufficient permissions handling.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Local privilege escalation via improper permissions handling in update framework directly matches Exploitation for Privilege Escalation.
NVD Description
Dell Update Package (DUP) Framework, versions 23.12.00 through 24.12.00, contains an Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges vulnerability. A low privileged attacker with local access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to Elevation of privileges.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-23857 is an Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges vulnerability (CWE-280) in the Dell Update Package (DUP) Framework, affecting versions 23.12.00 through 24.12.00. Published on 2026-02-12, it has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.2 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high severity due to its potential for significant confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts with a changed scope.
A low-privileged attacker with local access can exploit this vulnerability by leveraging user interaction, such as convincing the user to perform a specific action. Successful exploitation could lead to elevation of privileges, allowing the attacker to gain higher-level access on the affected system.
Dell has issued security advisory DSA-2026-081, available at https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000426781/dsa-2026-081-security-update-for-dell-update-package-dup-framework-vulnerability, which provides details on a security update to mitigate the vulnerability in the DUP Framework.
Details
- CWE(s)