CVE-2021-38872Network attack vector

Service interruption via multiple resource-consuming requests

Published May 17, 2022 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Resource-exhaustion denial of service in IBM DataPower Gateway allows remote attackers to interrupt API Gateway service. The API Gateway component consumes resources while handling multiple attacker requests until legitimate request processing is degraded or unavailable. No authentication or user interaction is required; IBM reports no data access or modification, and the exhausted resource and request format are undisclosed.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability1.50%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Resource-exhaustion denial of service in IBM DataPower Gateway allows remote attackers to interrupt API Gateway service. The API Gateway component consumes resources while handling multiple attacker requests until legitimate request processing is degraded or unavailable. No authentication or user interaction is required; IBM reports no data access or modification, and the exhausted resource and request format are undisclosed.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-38872
Published
May 17, 2022
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
IBM
Product
IBM DataPower Gateway
Classifications
T1499.003
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 17, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=10.0.1.0
  2. Affected versionversion=10.0.1.4
  3. Affected versionversion=10.0.2.0
  4. Affected versionversion=10.0.3.0
  5. Affected versionversion=2018.4.1.0
  6. Affected versionversion=2018.4.1.17

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

IBM · IBM DataPower Gatewayversion=10.0.1.0; version=10.0.1.4; version=10.0.2.0; version=10.0.3.0; version=2018.4.1.0; version=2018.4.1.17

Published CVSS scores

5.3IBM CorporationCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.003Application Exhaustion Flood

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo