Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-38364 affects ONOS 2.5.1, a network operating system for software-defined networks. A remote attacker may manipulate intents so flow rules belonging to other intents are changed or deleted. Business risk is disruption or unintended traffic handling in affected SDN environments.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate operational risk for SDN environments. Prioritize quickly if ONOS controls production network paths or if intent-management interfaces are broadly reachable. If ONOS is not used, exposure is unlikely.
Technical view
The issue is an incorrect comparison of flow rules installed by intents, classified as CWE-697. The CVSS 3.1 vector is network-accessible, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, with low integrity and availability impact. Sources identify ONOS 2.5.1, but do not provide fix details.
Likely exposure
Likely exposure is organizations running ONOS 2.5.1 where intent installation or removal is reachable by remote users or systems. The supplied affected-product metadata is incomplete, so version scope beyond ONOS 2.5.1 is not established.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not report active exploitation, and this CVE is not listed as KEV. The described attack requires the ability to install or remove a new intent remotely, causing unintended modification or deletion of flow rules tied to other intents.
Researcher notes
The main evidence is the CVE description and referenced ONOS/USENIX materials. Affected metadata in the bundle is sparse, with vendor and product marked n/a, so avoid extrapolating vulnerable versions, patches, or exploit status beyond ONOS 2.5.1.
Mitigation direction
- Identify and prioritize any ONOS 2.5.1 deployments.
- Check ONOS project guidance for fixed versions or vendor-recommended mitigations.
- Restrict remote access to ONOS management and intent-control interfaces.
- Review who or what can install or remove intents.
- Monitor for unexpected intent changes and flow-rule deletions.
Validation and detection
- Inventory ONOS versions across SDN controllers.
- Confirm whether ONOS 2.5.1 is present in production or labs.
- Review access paths to intent installation and removal functions.
- Inspect logs for unexpected intent additions, removals, or flow-rule changes.
- Compare active intents with expected flow-rule state.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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-697: 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.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-38364 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L3.92.5Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://opennetworking.org/onos/CVE reference
- https://www.usenix.org/system/files/sec23fall-prepub-285_kim-jiwon.pdfCVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Incorrect Comparison
Incorrect Comparison represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.