Executive brief
Dell's Watchdog Timer Driver, a system component used to monitor and automatically reboot computers when they become unresponsive, contains a flaw that allows low-privileged attackers with local system access to escalate their permissions to full system control. An attacker could exploit this to install malware, steal data, or disable security controls.
Technical details
The Dell Watchdog Timer Driver exposes an IOCTL (Input/Output Control) interface with insufficient access controls, allowing low-privileged local users to interact with privileged kernel operations. The vulnerability exists in versions prior to 2.0.0.1 and requires local access but no special authentication beyond user-level privileges. Successful exploitation enables a local attacker to escalate privileges and gain full system control, affecting confidentiality, integrity, and system availability. The patch is available as version 2.0.0.1 or later.
Affected products
- Dell Watchdog Timer Driver prior to 2.0.0.1
Timeline
- 2026-08-18: disclosed
- 2026-08-06: patched: Version 2.0.0.1 or later available