Description

Dell SCG 5.0 Appliance versions prior to 5.36.00.16 and Dell SCG 5.0 Application versions prior to 5.36.00.00, contains an Improper Locking vulnerability. A low privileged attacker with remote access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to filesystem access for attacker.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "6.5",
  "pubDate": "2026-09-07T17:17:25.450Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-09-07T17:17:25.450Z",
  "executiveSummary": "Dell Secure Connect Gateway (SCG) 5.0 Appliance and Application editions contain an improper locking vulnerability that exposes the underlying filesystem to unauthorized access.\nThe vulnerability originates from a failure to correctly implement synchronization or locking mechanisms within the application logic, which may lead to race conditions or access control bypasses.\nA remote attacker with low-privileged credentials can exploit this flaw to read, modify, or potentially compromise sensitive files within the appliance's filesystem.\nThe impact is significant, as filesystem access allows an attacker to gain visibility into configuration files, internal system data, or credentials, potentially leading to full system compromise.\nAffected versions include SCG 5.0 Appliance versions prior to 5.36.00.16 and SCG 5.0 Application versions prior to 5.36.00.00.\nSuccessful exploitation requires minimal privileges and network reachability to the SCG interface, posing a material risk to the confidentiality and integrity of the deployment.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability is classified as an Improper Locking issue, which typically arises when a multi-threaded process or service fails to establish mutual exclusion (mutex) correctly when accessing shared resources, in this case, the underlying filesystem or specific API hooks that interface with the OS.\nWhen a locking mechanism is improperly implemented, concurrent requests can create a state where the application context unintentionally spills over into protected administrative or system-level paths. This race condition or logic flaw allows a low-privileged session to bypass standard access control lists (ACLs) or permission checks that would otherwise restrict the user to an isolated or restricted directory scope.\nAn attacker with low-privileged remote access can leverage this flaw by sending specifically crafted requests to the Dell SCG service. By manipulating timing or sending overlapping requests, the attacker can force the application to perform file operations with broader permissions than intended.\nThe exploitation flow typically involves: 1) Establishing a legitimate, albeit low-privileged, session with the SCG appliance. 2) Identifying endpoints or system functions that interact with the filesystem. 3) Exploiting the improper locking mechanism to perform unauthorized traversal or access to file paths beyond the application's assigned directory. 4) Reading or modifying files to escalate privileges, extract sensitive configuration parameters, or exfiltrate diagnostic data.\nThe root cause suggests a flaw in the application's internal resource management where shared resource access is not synchronized effectively across parallel threads. Because the vulnerability exists within the context of the Dell SCG service, any file access achieved is performed with the privileges of the service account running the application, which is typically highly privileged to facilitate gateway operations.\nThis vulnerability is particularly critical because it bypasses the standard authentication and authorization enforcement layers of the SCG application. Once filesystem access is established, the attacker may pivot to modifying application configuration files or persistent state data, ensuring post-exploitation persistence. No specialized exploit chain beyond initial authentication is strictly required, provided the attacker can reach the application's request handling threads."
}