⚠ Reference material — not professional advice. Test in staging, back up first, verify against your specific version. Use your own judgment for your environment.
● Critical · CVSS 10 ⚠ ACTIVELY EXPLOITED — CISA KEV

How to Fix CVE-2026-22769: Hardcoded Credentials in RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines

By Sai Kiran Pandrala

⚡ At a glance
SeverityCVSS 10 - Critical
Actively exploited?Yes, listed in CISA KEV (added 2026-02-18)
AffectedRecoverPoint for Virtual Machines 5.3 SP4 P1 up to (excluding) 6.0.3.1 HF1; RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines 6.0, 6.0 SP1, 6.0 SP1 P1, 6.0 SP1 P2, 6.0 SP2, 6.0 SP2 P1, 6.0 SP3, and 6.0 SP3 P1 up to (excluding) 6.0.3.1 HF1
Fixed in6.0.3.1 HF1
Type (CWE)CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials

Patch immediately. CISA added CVE-2026-22769 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-02-18. Federal civilian agencies must remediate by 2026-02-21. Treat every internet-reachable instance as a priority patch.

What is CVE-2026-22769?

CVE-2026-22769 is a Hardcoded Credentials flaw in Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines. It carries a CVSS base score of 10 (critical). CISA confirmed real-world exploitation by adding it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-02-18.

From the source record: Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines, versions prior to 6.0.3.1 HF1, contain a hardcoded credential vulnerability. This is considered critical as an unauthenticated remote attacker with knowledge of the hardcoded credential could potentially exploit this vulnerability leading to unauthorized access to the underlying operating system and root-level persistence. Dell recommends that customers upgrade or apply one of the remediations as soon as possible.

Why it matters in practice: KEV-listed CVEs draw continuous internet-wide scanning. Any unpatched, internet-reachable installation is on borrowed time. The blast radius depends on how the affected service is exposed. An internet-facing instance with no compensating controls is the highest-risk configuration.

Am I affected?

You are affected if your installation of RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines matches a version listed in the Affected row above.

Check the installed version of RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines against the Affected row above. If the version sits at or below the affected range and the vendor patch has not been applied, you are vulnerable.

How to fix CVE-2026-22769

Apply the vendor patch. Target a build at or above: 6.0.3.1 HF1. The runnable command set below covers the most common deployment patterns for RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines.

Generic upgrade path


# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade recoverpoint
# RHEL / Rocky / Alma
sudo dnf upgrade --security -y
# Windows
# PowerShell:
#   winget upgrade --all --silent --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements
# macOS
sudo softwareupdate -i -a -R

After applying the patch

  1. Restart the service or device so the patched binary loads.
  2. Confirm the running version matches the Fixed in row using the verification command below.
  3. Rotate credentials and API keys that the affected service could access if the asset was exposed during the disclosure window.

If you can't patch immediately

Until the patch lands, narrow the attack surface with these runnable controls.

Reduce the attack surface

Restrict network reach to the affected service to the smallest set of hosts that must access it. On Linux:


# Vendor advisory: https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000426773/dsa-2026-079
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport <service-port> -s 10.10.10.0/24 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport <service-port> -j DROP

On Windows:


# Vendor advisory: https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000426773/dsa-2026-079
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block CVE-2026-22769 inbound" -Direction Inbound -Action Block -Protocol TCP -LocalPort <service-port>

Mitigations are temporary. Apply the vendor patch as soon as a maintenance window opens.

How to verify the fix worked

Confirm the patched build is the one actually running.

Run the product's --version or about command and compare against the Fixed in row (6.0.3.1 HF1). Re-run an authenticated vulnerability scan and confirm the scanner no longer flags CVE-2026-22769.

Also worth doing: pull recent log windows for any indicators of compromise listed in the vendor advisory, and re-run an authenticated vulnerability scan with up-to-date signatures.

Frequently asked questions

Other vulnerabilities in the same area that are worth patching alongside this one:

Is CVE-2026-22769 being exploited in the wild?

Yes. CISA added CVE-2026-22769 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-02-18. KEV listing means at least one confirmed real-world exploitation report exists.

Do I have to take downtime to patch?

For most Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines deployments, the patched build needs a service restart or device reboot. HA pairs and clusters can roll the upgrade by patching the standby first, failing over, then patching the former primary.

Will a WAF or IDS rule alone close CVE-2026-22769?

No. Network filters cut down opportunistic scans but they do not remove the flaw. The vendor patch is the only durable fix.

Why is CVE-2026-22769 rated critical?

The CVSS base score of 10 reflects network reach, low attack complexity, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. That combination is what the rating model maps to critical.

References

*Assembled from the official vendor advisory, the NVD record, and the CISA KEV listing on 2026-05-25. Always confirm against the vendor advisory before applying changes in production.*