CVE-2026-46735: Dell Display and Peripheral Manager Mac OS Command Injection (CVSS 7.8)

Technical summary

CVE-2026-46735 is an OS command injection vulnerability (CWE-78) in Dell Display and Peripheral Manager Mac prior to version 2.3. The vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of special characters in user-supplied input that is passed to OS command execution functions. An attacker with local access and low privilege level can craft malicious input to escape command boundaries and inject arbitrary shell commands. The attack requires no user interaction and succeeds on unpatched versions, as indicated by the CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) showing low attack complexity and high impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Business impact

Command injection in a peripheral management tool directly threatens system integrity and data confidentiality. An attacker could use this vulnerability to install malware, exfiltrate sensitive data, modify system configurations, or disable security controls. Organizations relying on Dell peripheral management across their Mac fleet face elevated lateral movement risk, especially in environments where multiple users share systems or where local account compromise is possible. The HIGH severity rating reflects the substantial window of impact available to local attackers.

Affected systems

Dell Display and Peripheral Manager for Mac versions prior to 2.3 are affected. macOS systems running vulnerable versions of this management software are at risk. Organizations should inventory their deployed DDPM installations, particularly in mixed-OS environments where Mac-based staff rely on Dell peripherals and centralized device management.

Exploitability

Exploitation requires local access and low-privilege user credentials, making this practical in scenarios such as: shared workstations, multi-tenant systems, or environments where contractors or temporary staff have local accounts. The attack vector is local (AV:L), attack complexity is low (AC:L), and no user interaction is needed (UI:N), meaning a low-privileged process or scheduled task could trigger the vulnerability without social engineering. The lack of current CISA KEV listing does not imply low urgency; active exploitation in the wild is not yet confirmed, but the ease of exploitation and local-access prerequisite mean this should still be prioritized for rapid remediation.

Remediation

Upgrade Dell Display and Peripheral Manager Mac to version 2.3 or later. Organizations should verify the specific patch version against Dell's official security advisory and release notes. For systems that cannot be immediately patched, restrict local user access through OS-level controls, disable unnecessary peripheral management features, and monitor for suspicious command execution from the DDPM process or related services. Implement application whitelisting to limit what commands can be executed by the vulnerable software.

Patch guidance

Obtain the latest version of Dell Display and Peripheral Manager for Mac from Dell's official download portal or through your organization's software distribution channel. Before deployment, verify that version 2.3 or later is confirmed in Dell's security advisory for CVE-2026-46735. Test patches in a non-production environment to ensure compatibility with your macOS deployment and connected peripherals. Plan a phased rollout to critical systems first, such as those in security-sensitive departments or with elevated user privilege levels.

Detection guidance

Monitor system logs for abnormal command execution originating from Dell Display and Peripheral Manager processes. Look for shell metacharacters or command separators (pipes, semicolons, backticks) in peripheral manager configuration files or temporary files. Implement process monitoring to detect child processes spawned by DDPM with unexpected privilege levels or command arguments. Network-based detection is limited since the vulnerability is local; focus on endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools configured to flag suspicious process lineage from the peripheral manager application.

Why prioritize this

Although not yet listed on CISA's KEV catalog, this vulnerability warrants HIGH priority due to its ease of exploitation (low attack complexity, no user interaction required), high impact across all CIA triad pillars, and the prevalence of local user accounts on Mac systems. In environments where Mac users are common and peripheral management is central to operations, delaying patching creates unnecessary risk window. Organizations with hybrid workforces or shared workstations should treat this as critical.

Risk score, explained

The CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8 (HIGH) reflects the combination of low-privilege local access requirements (AV:L, PR:L) with complete system compromise potential (C:H, I:H, A:H). While the attack cannot be carried out remotely or without some level of system access, once an attacker has a local foothold, the vulnerability provides a direct escalation path to executing arbitrary commands. The 'no user interaction' requirement (UI:N) removes the friction of social engineering, making this particularly dangerous in multi-user or shared-device scenarios.

Frequently asked questions