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CVE Record

CVE-2021-38363: An issue was discovered in ONOS 2.5.1.

An issue was discovered in ONOS 2.5.1. In IntentManager, the install-requested intent (which causes an exception) remains in pendingMap (in memory) forever. Deletion is possible neither by a user nor by the intermittent Intent Cleanup process.

HighCVSS 7.5Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-38363 affects ONOS 2.5.1, an SDN controller. A failed intent installation can leave stale state in memory permanently, and normal user deletion or cleanup does not remove it. This can undermine controller intent handling and network operations integrity.

Executive priority

Prioritize for environments where ONOS controls production network behavior. The issue is high severity, but urgency depends on whether ONOS 2.5.1 is deployed and reachable.

Technical view

In ONOS 2.5.1 IntentManager, an install-requested intent that triggers an exception remains in pendingMap indefinitely. The CVE states deletion is not possible through user action or the intermittent Intent Cleanup process. The weakness maps to CWE-755, improper handling of exceptional conditions.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to organizations running ONOS 2.5.1. The source bundle does not identify CPEs, downstream distributions, or other affected versions, so version confirmation is essential.

Exploitation context

The CVE is not listed as KEV in the provided bundle, and the supplied sources do not claim active exploitation. CVSS indicates network-reachable, low-complexity, unauthenticated triggering, but no exploit details are provided here.

Researcher notes

Evidence is narrow: the CVE description identifies ONOS 2.5.1 and the pendingMap failure mode, but not a patch, workaround, exploit campaign, or affected version range beyond 2.5.1.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory ONOS controllers and confirm whether version 2.5.1 is deployed.
  • Check ONOS project guidance and release notes for fixed versions or workarounds.
  • Restrict ONOS controller access to trusted networks and authorized operators.
  • Monitor IntentManager exceptions, pending intent growth, and controller memory pressure.
  • Plan remediation through tested upgrades or vendor-supported configuration changes.

Validation and detection

  • Verify ONOS version information on each controller instance.
  • Review controller logs for IntentManager exceptions during intent installation.
  • Check for persistent pending intents that cleanup does not remove.
  • Assess whether controller APIs or management interfaces are reachable from untrusted networks.
  • Confirm operational monitoring covers intent lifecycle failures and abnormal memory growth.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
4

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-755: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-38363 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.5 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
3Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
7.5CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N3.93.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7.5High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2021-38363Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-755

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-755 · source CWE mapping

Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions

Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs