Dell OpenManage Server Administrator is widely deployed for server management; an unauthenticated hard-coded crypto key can allow administrative takeover of managed servers and disrupt datacenter operations.
CVE-2026-81478
Hard-coded crypto key in Dell OMSA allows unauthenticated administrative access
Is CVE-2026-81478 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-81478 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.29% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-81478?
CVE-2026-81478 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.1. 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-2026-81478?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-81478. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-81478 affect?
CVE-2026-81478 affects Dell OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) versions prior to 11.1.0.3. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-81478?
Install OMSA 11.1.0.3+ and restrict/block management network access until patched.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Unauthenticated remote attacker can use a hard-coded cryptographic key to bypass authentication and gain unauthorized admin-level access to OMSA.
Immediate action required
- affected< 11.1.0.3
- affected< 11.1.0.3
- affected< 11.1.0.3
- affected< 11.1.0.3
- affected< 11.1.0.3
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.
cisa ssvc
- exploitation
- none
- automatable
- no
- technical impact
- total
Assessed by CISA 17 Sept 2026 (SSVC 2.0.3).
timeline
- 17 Sept 2026CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none
- 17 Sept 2026Published · same day later
- 18 Sept 2026CVE record last updated · 1 day later
- 19 Sept 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com · 1 day later
- Advisorydell.com /support/kbdoc/en-us/000506586/dsa-2026-403-security-update-for-dell-openmanage-
sources
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.