CVE-2021-38121 [High] | Security Vulnerability in Netiq Advanced Authentication

Insufficient or weak TLS protocol version identified in Advance authentication client server communication when specific service is accessed between devices. This issue affects NetIQ Advance Authentication versions before 6.3.5.1

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2025-03-17	0.05%	0.02%	-0.03%
2	2024-09-13	0.04%	0.05%	+0.01%
3	2024-08-29	—	0.04%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2025-03-17

0.05%

0.02%

-0.03%

2024-09-13

0.04%

0.05%

+0.01%

2024-08-29

—

0.04%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
8.3	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:A) Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:R) A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land. Scope (S:C) Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:L) Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.	1.7	6.0	[email protected]
8.8	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:A) Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	2.8	5.9	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

8.3

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:A): Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R): A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:C): Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:L): Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.

1.7

6.0

[email protected]

8.8

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:A): Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

2.8

5.9

[email protected]

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-38121

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
microfocus	netiq_advanced_authentication	< 6.3	cpe:2.3:a:microfocus:netiq_advanced_authentication::::::::
microfocus	netiq_advanced_authentication	6.3	cpe:2.3:a:microfocus:netiq_advanced_authentication:6.3:-::::::
microfocus	netiq_advanced_authentication	6.3	cpe:2.3:a:microfocus:netiq_advanced_authentication:6.3:sp1::::::
microfocus	netiq_advanced_authentication	6.3	cpe:2.3:a:microfocus:netiq_advanced_authentication:6.3:sp2::::::
microfocus	netiq_advanced_authentication	6.3	cpe:2.3:a:microfocus:netiq_advanced_authentication:6.3:sp3::::::
microfocus	netiq_advanced_authentication	6.3	cpe:2.3:a:microfocus:netiq_advanced_authentication:6.3:sp4::::::
microfocus	netiq_advanced_authentication	6.3	cpe:2.3:a:microfocus:netiq_advanced_authentication:6.3:sp4_patch1::::::
microfocus	netiq_advanced_authentication	6.3	cpe:2.3:a:microfocus:netiq_advanced_authentication:6.3:sp5::::::

References for CVE-2021-38121

URL	Tags
https://www.netiq.com/documentation/advanced-authentication-63/advanced-authentication-releasenotes-6351/data/advanced-authentication-releasenotes-6351.html	Release Notes Vendor Advisory

URL

CVE-2021-38121 | Weak communication protocol identified in Advance Authentication client application

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-38121

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-38121

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-38121

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-38121

References for CVE-2021-38121