Introduction
Remote attackers can bypass core security controls on Dell ThinOS 10 thin clients, exposing enterprise and healthcare environments to significant risk. CVE-2025-43728, disclosed in August 2025, is a critical protection mechanism failure that affects ThinOS 10 versions prior to 2508_10.0127 and requires immediate attention from organizations with Dell thin client deployments.
Dell ThinOS is a purpose-built operating system for thin clients, widely used in sectors like healthcare, finance, and government. Dell is a major global IT vendor with a substantial presence in endpoint infrastructure. Their ThinOS-powered devices are trusted for secure access to virtual desktops and cloud applications, making vulnerabilities in this platform especially impactful for organizations relying on secure remote access.
Technical Information
CVE-2025-43728 is classified as a Protection Mechanism Failure (CWE-693) in Dell ThinOS 10. The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to bypass protection mechanisms. The specific technical details, such as the affected service or code path, have not been made public. There are no available code snippets or detailed exploitation flows at this time. The vulnerability is critical due to its remote, unauthenticated attack vector and the potential for attackers to circumvent core security controls on affected devices.
Affected Systems and Versions
- Dell ThinOS 10, versions prior to 2508_10.0127
- All configurations of ThinOS 10 before this version are vulnerable
Vendor Security History
Dell has a history of critical vulnerabilities in ThinOS. Notably, CVE-2020-29491 and CVE-2020-29492 (both CVSS 10.0) affected ThinOS 8.6 and earlier, allowing device takeover via insecure update mechanisms. More recently, CVE-2025-26331 and CVE-2025-27688 (CVSS 7.8) were reported in ThinOS 10, involving command injection and privilege escalation. Dell typically issues security advisories and patches in response, but the recurrence of high-severity issues highlights ongoing secure development challenges.