CVE-2026-22266VulnerabilityPublished 19 Feb 2026Updated 20 Feb 2026

CVE-2026-22266: Dell PowerProtect Data Manager · Improper Neutralization of Expression/Command Delimiters

Affects Dell PowerProtect Data ManagerSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.7 Medium : upgrade to 19.22.0-24 or later when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.7Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 23% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 19.22.0-24 or later

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 19 Feb 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade Dell PowerProtect Data Manager to 19.22.0-24 or later.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
DellPowerProtect Data Manager	Affected ≥ N/A, < 19.22.0-24 or later	Fixed in 19.22.0-24 or later

AI-suggested

Until patched, restrict remote access to the PowerProtect Data Manager REST API using network segmentation, firewalls, and VPNs to limit exposure to trusted administrators only. Implement strict role-based access controls to minimize the number of users with high privileges. Enable detailed logging and monitoring of API access to detect anomalous or unauthorized activities. Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing focused on backup infrastructure to identify potential exploitation attempts. Consider deploying web application firewalls (WAFs) or API gateways that can detect and block malformed or suspicious API requests that might exploit command delimiter issues. Educate administrators on secure configuration practices and the importance of promptly applying security updates.

Description

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager, version(s) prior to 19.22, contain(s) an Improper Verification of Source of a Communication Channel vulnerability in the REST API. A high privileged attacker with remote access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to protection mechanism bypass.

Impact

If exploited, this vulnerability could allow attackers with high privileges to bypass critical protection mechanisms in Dell PowerProtect Data Manager, potentially leading to unauthorized access or modification of backup data and configurations. This could compromise the integrity and availability of backup data, impacting disaster recovery capabilities and data resilience. Organizations relying on this product for data protection may face increased risk of data loss, corruption, or exposure. The medium CVSS score reflects that while the vulnerability requires high privileges and remote access, the potential damage includes partial loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the vulnerability could be leveraged in targeted attacks against enterprises with sensitive data or critical infrastructure relying on Dell's backup solutions.

CWE-146Improper Neutralization of Expression/Command Delimiters (opens in a new tab)
Variant weakness
The product receives input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could be interpreted as expression or command delimiters when they are sent to a downstream component.
Developers should anticipate that inter-expression and inter-command delimiters will be injected/removed/manipulated in the input vectors of their product. Use an appropriate combination of denylists and allowlists to ensure only valid, expected and appropriate input is processed by the system.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Implementation · Output Encoding
While it is risky to use dynamically-generated query strings, code, or commands that mix control and data together, sometimes it may be unavoidable. Properly quote arguments and escape any special characters within those arguments.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
Deserialization (opens in a new tab)
Server Side Request Forgery Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Unvalidated Redirects and Forwards (opens in a new tab)
Cross Site Scripting Prevention (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Command Delimiters (opens in a new tab)
Argument Injection (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000429778/dsa-2026-046-security-update-for-dell-powerprotect-data-manager-multiple-vulnerabilities (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 28 Feb 2026, 14:35 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-146

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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