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DSA-2021-128: Dell PowerFlex Appliance Security Update for VMware vCenter Server Component Vulnerabilities

Summary: Dell PowerFlex Appliance remediation is available for VMware vCenter Server that may be exploited by malicious users to compromise the affected system.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
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Impact

Critical

Details

Third-party Component
 		 CVEs More information
VMware vCenter Server CVE-2021-21985 VMSA-2021-0010
CVE-2021-21986
Third-party Component
 		 CVEs More information
VMware vCenter Server CVE-2021-21985 VMSA-2021-0010
CVE-2021-21986
Dell Technologies recommends all customers consider both the CVSS base score and any relevant temporal and environmental scores that may impact the potential severity associated with a particular security vulnerability.

Affected Products & Remediation

CVEs Addressed Product Affected Versions Updated Versions Link to Update
CVE-2021-21985
CVE-2021-21986		 PowerFlex Appliance Versions before Intelligent_Catalog_37_361_00_r14, Versions before Intelligent_Catalog_37_355_00_r16 Intelligent_Catalog_37_361_00_r14, Intelligent_Catalog_37_355_00_r16 For IC downloads: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/vxflex-appliance-sw/drivers
CVEs Addressed Product Affected Versions Updated Versions Link to Update
CVE-2021-21985
CVE-2021-21986		 PowerFlex Appliance Versions before Intelligent_Catalog_37_361_00_r14, Versions before Intelligent_Catalog_37_355_00_r16 Intelligent_Catalog_37_361_00_r14, Intelligent_Catalog_37_355_00_r16 For IC downloads: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/vxflex-appliance-sw/drivers

Workarounds & Mitigations

PowerFlex Appliance includes the updated vCenter versions containing the remediation in an upcoming release update. In the meantime, the following workaround is recommended for PowerFlex Appliance customers.

VMware’s recommended workaround is to temporarily disable the “VMware vSAN H5 client plug-in” for vCenter Server.

The procedure to disable the plug-in is outlined in the VMware KB article: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/83829

Note:

  • The workaround is expected to be a temporary mitigation until the updated release is available.
  • Changes in the workaround must be reverted after applying the vCenter update. Procedure to revert the changes is outlined in https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/83829.
  • vSAN continues to function as expected, and vSAN related alarms continue to trigger for any events in the environment. These features are not dependent on the vSAN H5 plug-in.
  • The vSAN sections in the Monitoring and Configuration tabs in the vCenter UI are unavailable, and thus you cannot change the existing vSAN configuration.
  • The Skyline/vSAN Health UI interface is unavailable but the underlying logic monitoring the environment is still functional.
  • If there is a critical issue with vSAN, then the plug-in may need to be temporarily enabled to assist with troubleshooting and quicker resolution. When the issue is addressed, the plug-in can be disabled again. In this scenario, vCenter is exposed to the vulnerability as described in VMSA-2021-0010 while the plug-in is enabled.
Other references from VMware on this issue:
https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2021/05/vmsa-2021-0010.html

Revision History

RevisionDateDescription
1.02021-06-14Initial release - Workarounds and Mitigations
2.02021-07-13Updated Affected Products and Remediation section to add Affected versions, Updated versions, and Link to Update information.  

Related Information

Dell Security Advisories and Notices
Dell Vulnerability Response Policy
CVSS Scoring Guide

Legal Disclaimer

Affected Products

PowerFlex Appliance, Product Security Information, PowerFlex appliance R640, PowerFlex appliance R740XD, PowerFlex appliance R840
Article Properties
Article Number: 000188318
Article Type: Dell Security Advisory
Last Modified: 25 Oct 2021
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