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CVE Record

CVE-2021-38410: AVEVA PCS Portal Uncontrolled Search Path Element

AVEVA Software Platform Common Services (PCS) Portal versions 4.5.2, 4.5.1, 4.5.0, and 4.4.6 are vulnerable to DLL hijacking through an uncontrolled search path element, which may allow an attacker control to one or more locations in the search path.

HighCVSS 7.3Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

Affected AVEVA PCS Portal versions can load a malicious DLL from an unsafe search path location. This is not described as remotely exploitable from the internet, but a low-privileged local attacker with some user interaction could potentially gain high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Executive priority

Treat as high priority for OT-adjacent workstations because successful abuse could compromise system trust and operational continuity. Prioritize inventory, vendor guidance review, and access control hardening before assuming a patch path.

Technical view

CVE-2021-38410 is CWE-427 in AVEVA Platform Common Services Portal 4.4.6 and 4.5.0 through 4.5.2. The CVSS 3.1 vector is AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, indicating local access, low complexity, low privileges, required user interaction, and high CIA impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely where AVEVA PCS Portal 4.4.6, 4.5.0, 4.5.1, or 4.5.2 is installed on operational or engineering workstations and users can interact with affected components.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The weakness requires local access, low privileges, user interaction, and attacker control over at least one DLL search path location.

Researcher notes

Evidence supports a local DLL search path hijacking issue, not a network-reachable flaw. The source bundle does not name a fixed version, exploit activity, or detailed prerequisites beyond search path control and user interaction.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory PCS Portal installations and identify affected versions.
  • Review AVEVA and CISA guidance for supported fixes or mitigations.
  • Apply vendor-supported updates when confirmed applicable.
  • Restrict write access to application and DLL search path locations.
  • Limit local interactive access to affected systems.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm installed PCS Portal versions against the affected list.
  • Review filesystem permissions on application and search path directories.
  • Check endpoint telemetry for unexpected DLL placement or loading.
  • Verify vendor guidance has been applied and documented.
  • Prioritize systems supporting operational technology workflows.
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-427: 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 lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-38410 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
7.3 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

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
7.3CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.35.9Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7.3High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2021-38410Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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
AVEVAPlatform Common Services (PCS) Portal4.5.2, 4.5.1, 4.5.0, 4.4.6Listed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-427

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

CWE-427 · source CWE mapping

Uncontrolled Search Path Element

Uncontrolled Search Path Element represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs