NVD / CVE Program· CNA ibm

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,

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 30/100)

The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.71% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 53.9% of all records.
Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.
Severity is disputed: the assigning authority (CNA) scores it 4.4, NVD 7.5.
Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).

Low priority for now. Update when a fix is released; follow the vendor's advisory.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

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.

HighCVSS 7.5 · v3.1—No exploit No fix recorded

Pre-auth

Published: Nov 15, 2021
Updated: Jun 17, 2026
EPSS: 0.7% · 53th percentile
CWE: CWE-916

Report tools

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Action score

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS: 30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
CISA KEV: 0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS: 0 / 30 · 0.7%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD: 7.5
CNA · ibm: 4.4; 3.1 point gap

CVSS:3.0/UI:N/AV:N/C:H/PR:H/I:N/S:U/A:N/AC:H/RL:O/RC:C/E:U

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

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Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
No public exploit code on record
No fixed version yet

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

Vendor	Product	CPE
ibm	security guardium key lifecycle manager	cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_guardium_key_lifecycle_manager
ibm	security key lifecycle manager	cpe:2.3:a:ibm:security_key_lifecycle_manager
ibm	aix	cpe:2.3:o:ibm:aix
linux	linux kernel	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel
microsoft	windows	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

ibm security guardium key lifecycle manager4.1.0
ibm security guardium key lifecycle manager4.1.0.1
ibm security guardium key lifecycle manager4.1.1
ibm security key lifecycle manager3.0 and later · up to 3.0.0.4 inclusive
ibm security key lifecycle manager3.0.1 and later · up to 3.0.1.5 inclusive
ibm security key lifecycle manager4.0 and later · up to 4.0.0.3 inclusive
ibm security key lifecycle manager4.1.0
ibm security key lifecycle manager4.1.0.1
ibm security key lifecycle manager4.1.1

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (ibm). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager
- 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, 3.0.0.4, 3.0.1.5, 4.0.0.3, 4.1, 4.1.0.1, 4.1.1affected

Same product

ibm: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

CVE-2023-47702IBM Security Guardium Key Lifecycle Manager directory traversal
36Monitor
CVE-2023-25921IBM Security Guardium Key Lifecycle Manager file upload
35Monitor
CVE-2023-25925IBM Security Guardium Key Lifecycle Manager command injection
35Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

← EarlierCVE-2021-38977Nov 15, 2021 · IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 does not set the secure attribute on authorization tokens or session cookies.
17Monitor
← EarlierCVE-2021-38978Nov 15, 2021 · 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 failu
23Monitor
Later →CVE-2021-38981Nov 15, 2021 · IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information when a detailed tech
21Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

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Bug bounty scope