Description

Dell Secure Connect Gateway (SCG) Policy Manager, versions prior to 5.34.00.16, contains an Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability. A low privileged attacker with remote access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to Elevation of privileges.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "7.1",
  "pubDate": "2026-10-09T10:16:38.430Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-10-09T10:16:38.430Z",
  "executiveSummary": "Dell Secure Connect Gateway (SCG) Policy Manager versions prior to 5.34.00.16 are susceptible to an Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability.\nThis security flaw allows a remote attacker with low-privileged access to circumvent established authorization controls, facilitating an elevation of privileges within the affected system.\nThe vulnerability resides within the Policy Manager component, which is responsible for enforcing security policies and managing access control logic.\nAn unauthenticated or low-privileged remote actor can exploit this oversight to manipulate input parameters that the system fails to validate properly, effectively gaining unauthorized access to administrative or higher-level functions.\nThe impact of this vulnerability is significant, as it grants attackers the ability to perform actions beyond their intended permission level, potentially compromising the integrity and confidentiality of the entire Gateway infrastructure.\nThere are no requirements for physical access to the machine, making this a critical remote exploitation vector that requires immediate attention and patching to mitigate unauthorized privilege escalation risks.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability is classified as an Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key (CWE-639 or similar logic flaw), specifically affecting the Dell Secure Connect Gateway (SCG) Policy Manager component.\nThe root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper implementation of access control checks when handling user-provided keys or identifiers during policy evaluation. The application fails to strictly validate the authenticity or the ownership of the provided keys, allowing an attacker to supply manipulated input to deceive the application's internal authorization mechanisms.\nIn the attack flow, a low-privileged user identifies an API endpoint or a backend service request within the Policy Manager that utilizes a user-controlled key for session or authorization validation. By intercepting these requests, the attacker modifies the key parameter—such as a session token, object reference, or identification key—to match the attributes of a higher-privileged entity or an administrative session.\nBecause the Policy Manager relies on this untrusted, user-provided input to make security decisions, it fails to verify if the requester possesses the appropriate credentials or authorization scope. This enables the bypass, as the system treats the forged request as valid and authorized.\nThe exploitation process typically involves the following steps: First, reconnaissance of the SCG Policy Manager interface to identify endpoints that perform sensitive operations. Second, interception of the traffic to pinpoint the specific 'key' or identifier used by the backend to govern access. Third, crafting a payload where the key is modified—often by brute-forcing IDs, predicting session values, or leveraging predictable key generation patterns—to impersonate an administrator.\nOnce the forged key is injected, the Policy Manager component grants the attacker elevated access rights. The post-exploitation impact includes the ability to modify security configurations, export sensitive system data, or execute commands that are strictly restricted to legitimate administrators.\nThe vulnerability is present in all versions of the Dell Secure Connect Gateway (SCG) Policy Manager prior to 5.34.00.16. The flaw is fundamentally a failure in secure design principles regarding input validation for authorization tokens, which persists until the logic is corrected in the updated firmware or software release."
}