CVE-2021-38969Network attack vector

Unauthorized management access via reusable support credentials

Published May 11, 2022 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Authentication bypass in IBM Storage Virtualize 8.2, 8.3, and 8.4 allows remote attackers to gain unauthorized management GUI access. The remote-support challenge-response mechanism accepts support-generated credentials after their intended use, allowing the same credentials to be replayed. Exploitation requires possession of valid IBM support credentials and enabled Remote Support, which is disabled by default; access receives the restricted Service role.

CVSS severity5.6
Medium
EPSS probability0.71%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Authentication bypass in IBM Storage Virtualize 8.2, 8.3, and 8.4 allows remote attackers to gain unauthorized management GUI access. The remote-support challenge-response mechanism accepts support-generated credentials after their intended use, allowing the same credentials to be replayed. Exploitation requires possession of valid IBM support credentials and enabled Remote Support, which is disabled by default; access receives the restricted Service role.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-38969
Published
May 11, 2022
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
IBM
Product
IBM Storage Virtualize
Classifications
CWE-798, T1078
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 11, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=8.2
  2. Affected versionversion=8.3
  3. Affected versionversion=8.4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

IBM · IBM Storage Virtualizeversion=8.2; version=8.3; version=8.4

Published CVSS scores

9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
5.6IBM CorporationCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
5.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N

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

CWE-798Use of Hard-coded Credentials
T1078Valid Accounts

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

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Your stack

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