CVE-2026-25906
Published: 03 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-25906 is a high-severity Link Following (CWE-59) vulnerability in Dell Optimizer. Its CVSS base score is 7.3 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 0.3th 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 SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) and AC-6 (Least Privilege).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-25906 is an Improper Link Resolution Before File Access vulnerability, classified under CWE-59 and also known as a 'Link Following' issue, affecting Dell Optimizer in versions prior to 6.3.1. This flaw allows improper handling of symbolic links during file access operations within the software.
A low-privileged attacker with local access to the system can exploit this vulnerability by tricking a user into interacting with a malicious link or file (as indicated by the UI:R requirement in the CVSS v3.1 vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, scoring 7.3 High). Successful exploitation could lead to elevation of privileges, granting the attacker higher-level access and potentially compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability with high impact.
Dell has published advisory DSA-2026-094 detailing the issue, available at https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000427608/dsa-2026-094. Mitigation involves updating Dell Optimizer to version 6.3.1 or later, as versions prior to this are vulnerable. Security practitioners should verify patch deployment and monitor for local privilege escalation attempts.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-9321
Vulnerability details
Dell Optimizer, versions prior to 6.3.1, contain an Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') vulnerability. A low privileged attacker with local access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to Elevation of Privileges.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Local symlink-following flaw in privileged Dell Optimizer process enables direct local privilege escalation from low-privileged context, matching T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly requires timely remediation of the known flaw in Dell Optimizer by updating to version 6.3.1 or later, eliminating the link-following vulnerability.
Enforces least privilege so a low-privileged local account cannot exploit the link resolution flaw to achieve elevation of privileges.
Verifies software and file integrity to block or detect unauthorized symbolic-link manipulations used in the privilege-escalation attack.