CVE-2026-81440: Hard-coded Credentials in Dell OpenManage SA

CVE-2026-81440 is a high severity (7.3) hard-coded credentials flaw in Dell OpenManage Server Administrator before 11.1.0.3. An unauthenticated attacker with network access could potentially gain unauthorized access. Dell fixed it in 11.1.0.3, so upgrade every OMSA host and keep the service on a management network.

What's affected

Dell's advisory DSA-2026-403 lists Dell OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) versions before 11.1.0.3 as affected. The fixed version is 11.1.0.3. The advisory covers 21 CVEs in one update and rates the overall impact as high.

The affected builds are the Managed Node (Patch) for Windows, and Managed Node for RHEL 8.10, RHEL 9.4, SLES 15 and Ubuntu 22.04. Dell lists no workarounds.

How to check if you're exposed

Find every server where OMSA is installed. It is often installed by the server provisioning process and then forgotten. Check the OMSA version on each host through the OMSA interface or the installed package list for your operating system, and compare it to 11.1.0.3.

Then check network exposure. The record describes an unauthenticated attacker with network access, so OMSA listeners reachable from outside the management network are the first to fix. The advisory title refers to network access vulnerabilities.

What to do now

1. List every host running OMSA, across Windows, RHEL, SLES and Ubuntu.
2. Upgrade to 11.1.0.3 or later using the driver pages linked in Dell's advisory DSA-2026-403 for your platform.
3. Confirm OMSA is reachable only from your management network, and block it elsewhere until the upgrade is done.
4. If you cannot upgrade a host soon, consider whether OMSA needs to be running on it at all.
5. Re-scan after the upgrade to confirm the old version is gone.

Why it matters

The weakness is CWE-798, use of hard-coded credentials. A secret baked into a product is the same on every install, so anyone who learns it can try it everywhere. You cannot rotate it, because it is not yours to change.

The vector gives low impact across confidentiality, integrity and availability, which explains the 7.3 score. The record is not in CISA's KEV catalog. Because the fix ships with 20 other issues in the same release, applying the whole update matters more than chasing this one in isolation.

Quick check

Sources

• Dell advisory DSA-2026-403 for OpenManage Server Administrator

Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.