Widespread Dell client driver vulnerability enabling local privilege escalation; listed in CISA KEV and affects many enterprise endpoints.
CVE-2021-21551
Local privilege-escalation in Dell dbutil driver (CISA KEV).
Is CVE-2021-21551 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2021-21551 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2021-21551?
CVE-2021-21551 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2021-21551?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2021-21551. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2021-21551 affect?
CVE-2021-21551 affects Dell dbutil driver (dbutil_2_3.sys), Dell XPS, Dell Latitude, Dell Inspiron, and 6 further products or versions. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2021-21551?
Apply Dell security update immediately; restrict local admin accounts and monitor endpoints.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Local authenticated user can obtain SYSTEM privileges, perform kernel read/write, cause DoS, or disclose data via dbutil_2_3.sys.
Immediate action required
- affected2.3
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.