CVE-2025-46685 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-378, indicating the creation of temporary files with insecure permissions within Dell's SupportAssist OS Recovery software. This flaw exists in versions prior to 5.5.15.1 and allows a low-privileged attacker with local access to exploit the insecure file permissions to escalate their privileges on the affected system. The vulnerability arises because temporary files are created without adequate permission restrictions, potentially allowing unauthorized users to modify or replace these files. This can lead to arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges, compromising system confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The CVSS 3.1 score of 7.5 (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H) indicates that exploitation requires local access, high attack complexity, low privileges, and user interaction, but the impact is critical across all security objectives. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability poses a significant risk, especially in environments where multiple users have local access or where attackers can gain such access through other means. The vulnerability affects Dell systems utilizing SupportAssist OS Recovery, a tool commonly pre-installed on Dell consumer and enterprise devices to assist with OS recovery and troubleshooting. The flaw's presence in a recovery tool is particularly concerning as it could allow attackers to gain persistent elevated access during recovery operations. The vulnerability was reserved in April 2025 and published in January 2026, indicating a recent disclosure and the likelihood that patches or updates will be forthcoming or already available.

For European organizations, this vulnerability presents a significant risk due to the widespread use of Dell hardware and SupportAssist OS Recovery in enterprise and consumer environments. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to escalate privileges from a low-privileged user to administrative or system-level access, enabling full control over affected machines. This could lead to data breaches, unauthorized access to sensitive information, disruption of business operations, and the potential deployment of further malware or ransomware. The requirement for local access and user interaction somewhat limits remote exploitation but does not eliminate risk in environments where insider threats or physical access are possible. Additionally, compromised recovery tools could undermine incident response and recovery processes, prolonging downtime and complicating remediation efforts. European organizations with shared workstations, remote or hybrid work setups, or less stringent local access controls are particularly vulnerable. The impact extends to confidentiality, integrity, and availability, making this a critical concern for maintaining compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR.

To mitigate CVE-2025-46685, organizations should prioritize updating Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery to version 5.5.15.1 or later once patches are released. Until patches are available, implement strict local access controls to limit the number of users with local access to affected systems. Conduct regular audits of temporary file permissions and enforce policies that restrict file creation and modification rights to trusted users only. Employ endpoint protection solutions that monitor and alert on suspicious file operations, especially in recovery environments. Educate users about the risks of local privilege escalation and the importance of not interacting with untrusted recovery prompts or files. Where possible, disable or restrict the use of SupportAssist OS Recovery on systems that do not require it. Maintain robust physical security controls to prevent unauthorized local access. Finally, integrate this vulnerability into vulnerability management and incident response workflows to ensure rapid detection and remediation.