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CVE-2021-21551

Dell dbutil_2_3.sys driver contains an insufficient access control vulnerability which may lead to escalation of privileges, denial of service, or information disclosure. Local authenticated user access is required.

CVSS 8.8 (HIGH) KEV: KNOWN CATALOG

Attention and evidence

HYPE SCORE
0.0/10
REALITY · THREAT PRIORITY
8.7/10
General review priority; not probability

Evidence confidence: Exploitation recorded

Why this priority?
  • Recorded exploitation baseline: +7.00
  • Technical severity: CVSS 8.8: +1.32
  • Fresh EPSS: 79.63%: +0.40

General review priority, not probability, victim count or asset-specific risk. A range covers missing CVSS/EPSS inputs within the current evidence state.

Sources: 10 documents and public datasets.

Hype components

Headline sample (25%)
0/100
Press, 30 days (60%)
0/100
Grounded branding (15%)
0/100
HYPE TOTAL0/100

Sources and documents

IBM
Press · 08 Mar 2025, 04:51 · When the absence of noise becomes signal: defensive considerations for Lazarus FudModule - IBM
Infosecurity Magazine
Press · 03 Oct 2022, 07:00 · Lazarus Group Exploits Dell Driver Vulnerability to Bypass Windows Security - Infosecurity Magazine
The Hacker News
Press · 03 Oct 2022, 07:00 · Hackers Exploiting Dell Driver Vulnerability to Deploy Rootkit on Targeted Computers - The Hacker News
WeLiveSecurity
Press · 30 Sep 2022, 07:00 · Amazon-themed campaigns of Lazarus in the Netherlands and Belgium - WeLiveSecurity
Rapid7
Press · 13 Dec 2021, 08:00 · Driver-Based Attacks: Past and Present - Rapid7
See all 10 source documents
BleepingComputer
Press · 13 Dec 2021, 08:00 · Dell driver fix still allows Windows Kernel-level attacks - BleepingComputer
CrowdStrike
Press · 26 May 2021, 07:00 · CVE-2021-21551: Learning Through Exploitation - CrowdStrike
CrowdStrike
Press · 17 May 2021, 07:00 · The Dell Driver Vulnerability - CrowdStrike
Sophos
Press · 06 May 2021, 07:00 · Using Sophos EDR to identify endpoints impacted by Dell kernel driver vulnerability CVE-2021-21551 - Sophos
Redmondmag.com
Press · 05 May 2021, 07:00 · 'Millions' of Dell Windows PCs Contain 'Critical' Driver Vulnerability - Redmondmag.com

Score evolution

● Hype   ● Reality

Earlier evidence-support scores are retained in history; this chart shows only the current priority definition.

First record: hype 0.0 · reality 8.7 (2026-11-02 15:12). The curve appears once the score changes.

Public exploit evidence

3

Public exploit entries / repo candidates

See 3 repos with metrics
RepositoryStarsForksLanguageUpdated
mathisvickie/CVE-2021-215515914C16 Nov 2021, 17:34
mzakocs/CVE-2021-21551-POC238C++20 Jul 2021, 03:03
bengabay1994/cve-2021-21551-PoC00Python02 Dec 2025, 19:48
Public exploit evidence
Evidence context and dated references

Reality is general threat/review priority, combining observed exploitation, CVSS severity and fresh EPSS. Evidence confidence is separate. This is not calibrated risk, a victim count or an asset-specific assessment. A range reflects missing numeric inputs.

Evidence in context

Confidence in exploitation evidence
Exploitation recorded
Priority basis
Recorded exploitation; CVSS 8.8; EPSS 79.6%
Attention, last 30 days
0 distinct story titles; 0 press documents; 0 publisher domains.
Technical potential
local access, low privileges, no user interaction.
Observed activity
Exploitation recorded in CISA KEV.
Known scale
Not quantified.
Evidence confidence basis
Trusted exploitation confirmation

Score evaluated: 2026-11-05 13:58:22.744333+00:00 · EPSS snapshot: 2026-11-05T12:03:04Z

Source event timeline
Published
04 May 2021, 15:15
First press mention
05 May 2021, 07:00
Added to the CISA KEV catalog
31 Mar 2022, 00:00
Latest press mention
08 Mar 2025, 04:51
Score calculated
05 Nov 2026, 13:58
PoCs on GitHub
3 repositories