CVE-2021-38986Network attack vector

Account impersonation via persistent logged-out sessions

Published Mar 1, 2022 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Incorrect session invalidation in IBM MQ Appliance 9.2 CD and 9.2 LTS allows remote authenticated users to impersonate other users. The logout path leaves an established management session usable instead of invalidating its server-side session state. An attacker must first obtain authenticated access and a surviving session token; reused session authority can expose, alter, or interrupt appliance-managed resources.

CVSS severity5.6
Medium
EPSS probability0.47%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Incorrect session invalidation in IBM MQ Appliance 9.2 CD and 9.2 LTS allows remote authenticated users to impersonate other users. The logout path leaves an established management session usable instead of invalidating its server-side session state. An attacker must first obtain authenticated access and a surviving session token; reused session authority can expose, alter, or interrupt appliance-managed resources.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-38986
Published
Mar 1, 2022
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
IBM
Product
IBM MQ Appliance
Classifications
CWE-613, T1550.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 1, 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=9.2 CD
  2. Affected versionversion=9.2 LTS

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

IBM · IBM MQ Applianceversion=9.2 CD; version=9.2 LTS

Published CVSS scores

5.6IBM CorporationCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
5.5NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:N
5.4NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-613Insufficient Session Expiration
T1550.004Web Session Cookie

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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