CVE-2026-22267 is an Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability classified under CWE-266 affecting Dell PowerProtect Data Manager versions prior to 19.22. This vulnerability allows a low-privileged attacker who has remote access to the system to escalate their privileges without requiring user interaction. The vulnerability arises due to improper assignment or enforcement of privileges within the PowerProtect Data Manager software, enabling unauthorized elevation of privileges. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 8.1, reflecting high severity, with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring low privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), no confidentiality impact (C:N), but high integrity (I:H) and availability (A:H) impacts. This means the attacker can significantly compromise the integrity and availability of the system, potentially disrupting backup operations or manipulating protected data. Although no exploits are currently known in the wild, the vulnerability poses a serious risk due to the critical nature of the product in data protection environments. The lack of a patch link suggests that a fix may not yet be publicly available, emphasizing the need for interim mitigations. Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is widely used in enterprise environments for backup and disaster recovery, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations relying on it for data integrity and availability.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2026-22267 can be substantial. Dell PowerProtect Data Manager is commonly deployed in enterprise and critical infrastructure sectors such as finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and government agencies across Europe. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized privilege escalation, allowing attackers to manipulate backup data, disrupt recovery processes, or cause denial of service conditions. This threatens data integrity and availability, potentially resulting in data loss, operational downtime, and compliance violations under regulations like GDPR. The remote exploitability and lack of required user interaction increase the risk of widespread attacks if the vulnerability is weaponized. Organizations with remote access to their backup management systems are particularly vulnerable. The potential for attackers to gain elevated privileges also raises concerns about lateral movement within networks, increasing the overall security risk.

1. Immediately restrict remote access to Dell PowerProtect Data Manager interfaces using network segmentation, VPNs, or firewall rules to limit exposure. 2. Implement strict access controls and least privilege principles for all users interacting with the PowerProtect system. 3. Monitor logs and alerts for unusual privilege escalation attempts or anomalous activities related to backup management. 4. Engage with Dell support to obtain any available patches or workarounds and apply them promptly once released. 5. Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments focusing on backup infrastructure. 6. Consider deploying additional endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to detect potential exploitation attempts. 7. Educate IT and security teams about this vulnerability to ensure rapid response capability. 8. If possible, isolate backup management systems from general user networks to reduce attack surface. 9. Maintain up-to-date backups stored offline or in immutable formats to ensure recovery in case of compromise.