CVE-2021-38978

IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by the failure to properly enable HTTP Strict Transport Security. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to obtain sensitive information using man in the middle techniques. IBM X-Force ID: 212783.

Published: 2021-11-15 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2021-38978 is rated Moderate Risk (43.1/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.86%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-38978

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.08% 0.86% +0.78%
2 2025-03-17 0.17% 0.08% -0.10%
3 2024-02-07 — 0.17% —

Full EPSS history (9 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-38978

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.9 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
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:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 2.2 3.6 [email protected]
5.9 3.0 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
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:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 2.2 3.6 [email protected]
4.3 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
 8.6 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-38978

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-38978

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
ibm security_guardium_key_lifecycle_manager 4.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_guardium_key_lifecycle_manager:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_guardium_key_lifecycle_manager 4.1.0.1 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_guardium_key_lifecycle_manager:4.1.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_guardium_key_lifecycle_manager 4.1.1 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_guardium_key_lifecycle_manager:4.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_key_lifecycle_manager >= 3.0, <= 3.0.0.4 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_key_lifecycle_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_key_lifecycle_manager >= 3.0.1, <= 3.0.1.5 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_key_lifecycle_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_key_lifecycle_manager >= 4.0, <= 4.0.0.3 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_key_lifecycle_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_key_lifecycle_manager 4.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_key_lifecycle_manager:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_key_lifecycle_manager 4.1.0.1 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_key_lifecycle_manager:4.1.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm security_key_lifecycle_manager 4.1.1 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_key_lifecycle_manager:4.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-38978

cvelogic Threat Intelligence