CVE-2021-36318

Complete outage via plaintext password storage

Published Dec 21, 2021 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Plaintext password storage in Dell EMC Avamar 18.2 and 19.1 through 19.4 allows local users to cause a complete service outage. Dell has not disclosed the affected file, credential, or operation that stores the password without encryption. Exploitation requires high privileges on the Avamar system; the documented consequence is a complete outage, with no user interaction required.

CVSS severity6.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.23%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Plaintext password storage in Dell EMC Avamar 18.2 and 19.1 through 19.4 allows local users to cause a complete service outage. Dell has not disclosed the affected file, credential, or operation that stores the password without encryption. Exploitation requires high privileges on the Avamar system; the documented consequence is a complete outage, with no user interaction required.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-36318
Published
Dec 21, 2021
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
Dell
Product
Avamar
Classifications
CWE-532, CWE-522
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 21, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <18.2 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Dell · Avamarversion=unspecified <18.2 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4

Published CVSS scores

4.6NISTAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
6.7DellCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-532Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File
CWE-522Insufficiently Protected Credentials

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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