Dell PowerProtect Data Domain: Privilege escalation through dropped privileges check
Summary
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain (DD OS) feature release versions 7.7.1.0 through 8.8 contain an Improper Check for Dropped Privileges vulnerability (CWE-273). A low-privileged user with remote network access can potentially escalate privileges, which Dell rates as High (CVSS 8.8) with full impact on confidentiality, integrity and availability. The attack requires a valid low-privileged account and no user interaction. The flaw is part of Dell's wider DSA-2026-416 update, which also covers several unauthenticated critical flaws.
Affected
- Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, Feature Release versions 7.7.1.0 through 8.8 (per Dell advisory)
- Exact upper boundary to be confirmed on Dell's page: Dell states 8.8, a third-party source states 8.8.0.0
- Data Domain Virtual Edition, APEX Protection Storage and Data Domain Management Center are listed in the advisory's remediation scope; per-CVE mapping unconfirmed
Fixed in
Unknown in the sources reviewed for this CVE. Third-party reports name fixed DD OS builds 8.9.0.0, 7.13.1.90, 8.3.1.50 and 8.6.1.30, but the per-branch mapping is not confirmed against Dell's advisory table.
Workaround
None. Dell lists no workaround.
Exploitation
- Dell reports no known exploitation.
- The CVE is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
- As of 26 October 2026, no public exploit code was indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB (OffSeq); VulDB also reports no exploit available.
- These checks are early and the status could change quickly.
Our recommendation
- Inventory all Data Domain, Virtual Edition, APEX Protection Storage and Management Center instances with their DD OS versions.
- Restrict access to DD management interfaces to a dedicated admin network and remove the internet exposure of these interfaces.
- Review admin and service accounts; remove unused accounts and enforce strong, unique passwords.
- Upgrade to the DD OS build that Dell's advisory lists for your release line; apply the full DSA-2026-416 update, not only this CVE.
- Review admin access logs for unusual activity since 1 October 2026.
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- Dell DSA-2026-416 security advisory www.dell.com
- Brandefense: Dell Data Domain critical vulnerabilities (DSA-2026-416) brandefense.io
- SecurityOnline: Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vulnerabilities securityonline.info
- OffSeq Radar: CVE-2026-86385 radar.offseq.com
- VulDB: CVE-2026-86385 vuldb.com
- Strix: CVE-2026-86385 www.strix.ai
- Canadian Centre for Cyber Security: Dell advisory AV26-366 www.cyber.gc.ca
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 31 Oct 2026, 09:36.
Original description (NVD)
Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, Feature Release versions 7.7.1.0 through 8.8, contain an Improper Check for Dropped Privileges vulnerability. A low privileged attacker with remote access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to elevation of privileges.
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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