CVE-2021-38979

IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 uses a one-way cryptographic hash against an input that should not be reversible, such as a password, but the software does not also use a salt as part of the input. IBM X-Force ID: 212785.

Published: 2021-11-15 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2021-38979 is rated Moderate Risk (44.2/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.11%). 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-2021-38979

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 2023-03-07 0.89% 0.11% -0.77%
2 2022-04-01 9.03% 0.89% -8.14%
3 2022-02-04 — 9.03% —

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-38979

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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: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:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 3.9 3.6 [email protected]
4.4 3.0 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/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:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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.
 0.7 3.6 [email protected]
5.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/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:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
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.
 10.0 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-38979

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-38979

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-2021-38979

cvelogic Threat Intelligence